E-Cell Tech, a small and medium South Korean lithium-ion battery dry separator manufacturer that is going through corporate rehabilitation process, is pushing for domestic M&A to secure investment funds.
It stated that it is pushing to sell its business by attracting outside capitals through capital increase by allocation to third parties.
E-Cell Tech, which publically announced sale of its business on the 21st, is going to receive letters of intent until the 12th of July and select preferred bidders in early August. Bidding process will be carried out based on stalking horse method.
E-Cell Tech, which was established in 2012, specializes in dry separator for secondary batteries. CEO Park Hyeon-chae is an expert in separator who majored in industrial chemistry degree from Seoul National University, had worked as a researcher for Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and had worked for an American separator manufacturer called Celgard.
Based on fundamental technology related to ‘microporous film manufacturing device for lithium-ion battery separator’ that it developed, E-Cell Tech had gathered millions of dollars of investments and constructed a plant that can produce 8 million m2 separators annually. However, it had used up its entire fund due to late supply of its products to a major South Korean corporation and it applied for corporate rehabilitation process through Taejon District Court last September.
Separator, which is one of four major materials of a secondary battery, is located between an anode and a cathode of a lithium-ion battery and it is a polymer film that prevents direct contact between electrodes and creates current by only allowing lithium ions to pass through fine holes. There can be a dry or wet separator depending on production method. Although dry separator can be useful to create high output due to high stability in high temperature and linear distribution of pores, it requires high degree of technology in creating even pores.
E-Cell Tech’s major products are ‘dry battery separator’ and ‘polypropylene fault separator’. Based on its high precision production facility and knowhow in dry manufacturing process, it developed high-quality dry separator. It has its own extrusion and elongation technologies. It explained that it can drastically increase productivity by increasing width of its separator to 1,300mm.
Its goal is to establish large-scale mass-production line and start mass-producing dry separators for small 18650 cylindrical batteries by end of this year. Its next goal is to mass-produce dry separators for ESS (Energy Storage System) batteries after 2020.
“E-Cell Tech received a request from a major South Korean battery manufacturer in 2016 regarding delivery of dry separators for lithium-ion batteries and passed every item on battery performance evaluation and it is currently looking to register as a supplier.” said a representative for Shinwha Accounting Corporation that is managing the sale of E-Cell Tech. “It currently needs about $15.5 million (18 billion KRW) to construct a large-scale mass-production facility that has annual production capacity of 150 million m2 and it is looking to meet necessary fund by selling its business.”
Staff Reporter Jung, Hyunjung | iam@etnews.com