One-thirtieth of a human hair: Inside the Chinese factory making a critical EV battery material
4 minute read
Armenpress gained rare access to the headquarters of Gansu Hailiang New Energy Materials Co., Ltd., a leading battery materials manufacturer specializing in high-performance electrodeposited copper foil for lithium-ion batteries, a critical component in the electric vehicle industry.
Located in Lanzhou, the capital of China's Gansu Province, the state-of-the-art facility belongs to Gansu Hailiang, a subsidiary of Hailiang Group, one of China's leading copper products manufacturers. The company represents the group's strategic expansion into materials for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
During the media tour, Armenpress and other journalists were granted access to the company's research, development, and quality control facilities, where scientists demonstrated how every batch of copper foil is tested to ensure it meets industry standards. Experts carefully measure the thickness, composition, and other characteristics of the material before it is supplied to battery manufacturers.
Producing the ultra-thin copper foil requires a combination of advanced manufacturing techniques and scientific innovation. According to company representatives, the foil is one-thirtieth the thickness of a human hair.
"The more purple the color of the copper, the higher the quality," a Hailiang representative said while showcasing the facility during the tour.
"Our annual output reaches 150,000 tons."
Inside the production halls, massive rolls of copper foil were displayed on heavy industrial machinery, offering a glimpse of the scale at which Hailiang operates.
Although only a few micrometers thick, the copper foil plays a crucial role inside every lithium-ion battery. It forms the conductive layer of the battery's negative electrode, or anode, collecting and transporting electrons while supporting the active coating material. In other words, the copper foil serves as the battery's electrical wiring, enabling current to flow efficiently during charging and discharging.
The material is an indispensable component of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, smartphones, and a wide range of other electronic devices.
According to the company, its customers include Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world's largest producer of electric vehicle batteries, which holds roughly 40 percent of the global market. China itself is the world's largest producer of electric vehicles, accounting for more than 70 percent of global EV production, making companies such as Gansu Hailiang key suppliers in the rapidly expanding global clean energy supply chain.
The Hailiang representative also highlighted the high quality of the raw materials used in production, noting that the color of the copper itself reflects its purity. High-purity copper is often referred to as "purple copper" because its surface develops a purplish or rose-red hue when a thin oxide film forms.
At the company's research center, a team of experts uses advanced technologies to conduct rigorous testing and optimize production processes. Hailiang has also introduced artificial intelligence into its manufacturing operations, applying smart systems to enhance quality control, improve efficiency, and ensure the consistency of its copper foil output.