An industrial transformation is taking shape in northern Qingdao as the city accelerates its push to establish a specialized battery materials cluster spanning the Pingdu and Laixi districts. The strategic initiative, unveiled in June, targets a major expansion of the region's new energy supply chain, with plans to grow the number of large-scale enterprises in the power and storage battery sector to over 50 by 2028, aiming for a total output value exceeding 18 billion yuan while maintaining a domestic market share of more than 30 percent for anode materials.
The momentum is already visible on the ground. In Laixi's Nanshu town, the construction site of the Xin Yuan 100,000-ton high-end automotive lithium battery anode materials project is bustling with activity, with steel structures rising rapidly. This flagship project exemplifies how the region is moving beyond traditional resource extraction toward high-end new energy manufacturing, capitalizing on the booming electric vehicle market to accelerate industrial development.
Production capacity is expanding swiftly across the region. In Pingdu, the new energy materials project by Qingdao Taida Huarun New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. has commenced trial operations, focusing on lithium battery anode material R&D and manufacturing. The facility is expected to become a leading production base in the district, filling critical gaps in the regional new energy industry chain and providing robust support for the cluster development of Qingdao's new energy sector.
Similarly, Qingdao Haida Ruiyuan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. has revealed progress on its lithium battery anode material expansion project in Pingdu's Tianzhuang town. Upon completion, the facility will add an annual production capacity of 80,000 tons of artificial graphite anode materials. This expansion follows the company's earlier investments in spherical graphite and anode material production lines, signaling a rapid acceleration of its capacity layout in the lithium battery anode segment.
In neighboring Laixi, the industry is also gaining steady momentum. The Xin Yuan project, invested by Qingdao Xin Yuan New Material Technology Co., Ltd., occupies 200 mu and specializes in the R&D and mass production of anode materials for new energy vehicle power batteries. Leveraging proprietary integrated production processes and fully enclosed circulation systems, the facility achieves approximately 40 percent lower equipment energy consumption at equivalent capacity, successfully combining efficient production with green, low-carbon operations. Through continuous technological upgrades, the artificial graphite anode materials developed by the company demonstrate improved gram capacity and low-temperature performance by over 15 percent, while battery cycle life is extended by more than 20 percent, positioning the products at the forefront of the industry.
According to Li Ruiyuan, deputy mayor of Nanshu Town, the Xin Yuan project is progressing steadily with steel structure construction currently underway, targeting completion and operation by year-end. Once fully operational, production capacity is expected to increase from the original 20,000 tons to 80,000 tons, further extending the graphite industry chain and expanding the sector's scale. Not far from this site, the Carbon One New Energy project, backed by 6 billion yuan in investment, is accelerating its development. As a leading enterprise in the domestic new energy materials sector, Carbon One will establish an integrated industrial ecosystem in Nanshu town. The factory for artificial graphite anode precursor materials is already completed, with equipment currently being installed. This project represents a strategic move in Qingdao's broader ambition to become a national hub for battery materials.
In Laixi's Yuanshang town, the Xin Taihe Nano 60,000-ton ultra-fast charging power lithium battery anode materials project is rapidly advancing, representing a critical step in regional industrial upgrading. This initiative goes beyond simple capacity expansion, representing a strategic breakthrough focused on charging speed and energy storage limits. The arrival of such a flagship project is expected to drive the rise of an entire industrial chain, attracting upstream supporting enterprises in needle coke, graphitization processing, and coating auxiliary materials, while directly connecting downstream with local cell manufacturing and vehicle assembly industries. With its stable and reliable product quality, Xin Taihe Nano has secured a position in the supply chains of global leading battery companies, deeply supporting industry giants including ATL, CATL, BYD, Samsung, and LG. The core advantages of this chain-leading enterprise provide the rare momentum needed for Qingdao's battery materials industry to upgrade and enhance its quality.
The region is also advancing toward the higher end of the industrial chain. With the explosive growth of the new energy industry, demand for graphite in lithium-ion battery anode materials, photovoltaic applications, and semiconductor manufacturing has surged. Qingdao's battery materials industry is transitioning from traditional resource mining and primary processing toward a high-end direction focused on anode materials, energy storage battery integration, and deep processing.
Pingdu's Nancun town has recently welcomed a new materials industry layout, with the Qingdao Duoyuan New Materials Co., Ltd. silicon carbide crushing workshop project progressing steadily and expected to be completed and operational by September. Unlike third-generation semiconductor high-end silicon carbide substrate materials, this project focuses on industrial-grade silicon carbide powder coarse processing, filling a local gap in crushing and grading capabilities. Once operational, it will enable local processing, significantly reducing supply chain costs for regional new materials enterprises and promoting coordinated development between graphite and silicon carbide industries.
At Qingdao Luowei New Materials Co., Ltd. in Nanshu town, modern facilities and automated raw material warehouses showcase the company's advanced manufacturing capabilities. Liu Aosong, deputy general manager, describes the company as a national high-tech enterprise specializing in graphite purification and high-end carbon materials R&D, production, and sales, with products primarily supporting lithium-ion battery anode materials widely used in new energy vehicle batteries. As a nationally recognized enterprise in the graphite new materials sector, the company is accelerating its climb toward the middle and upper reaches of the industrial chain. Currently holding 7 invention patents and 24 utility model patents, the company continues to lead industry R&D with an annual rate of more than 3 new invention patents. Its independently developed zero-discharge graphite deep processing production line achieves digitization, automation, and standardization in production processes, breaking through traditional industry design. Phase one purification capacity currently stands at 70,000 tons annually, with phase two adding 180,000 tons, bringing total annual purification capacity to 250,000 tons.
Qingdao Qingbei Carbon Products Co., Ltd. has seized opportunities in the lithium battery carbon materials sector through continuous innovation. According to deputy general manager Guo Peng, the company has established a dedicated expert workstation for lithium battery anode materials and received certification as a Qingdao Enterprise Technology Center. It now holds 23 patented technologies and produces over 60 product specifications, widely applied in new energy vehicle power batteries, consumer electronics batteries, and energy storage batteries. While leading the nation in production output, Qingdao's battery materials enterprises continue to accelerate product development. Luowei New Materials has taken the lead in laying out silicon-carbon precursor production lines, deeply integrating into the solid-state battery development landscape. Xin Taihe Nano, in partnership with Tsinghua University and Sinoma Graphite, is jointly undertaking a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology project for high-quality manufacturing development, researching 6C fast-charging lithium battery anode materials. Qingdao Guoxuan is seizing opportunities in the energy storage industry with plans to add a 10GWh energy storage PACK production line. These initiatives mark the industry's advancement toward high value-added segments.
The agglomeration is accelerating as Qingdao aims for national influence. The city recently issued an action plan for the innovative development of the power and storage battery industry covering the next three years. Leveraging its graphite resource endowments and years of industrial accumulation, Qingdao has established advantages in key battery materials including positive and negative electrode materials, conductive agents, and separators. Looking ahead, the city will further amplify existing strengths while addressing gaps in PACK system capacity and critical supporting components such as BMS, PCS, and thermal management systems. The goal is to perfect the battery industry ecosystem spanning key materials, cells, PACK systems, recycling, and application scenarios, establishing a regionally competitive new energy battery manufacturing hub.
The foundation for this development is solid. Pingdu currently hosts 39 large-scale battery materials enterprises, with total industry output value reaching 4.65 billion yuan in 2025. Laixi has gathered 16 large-scale enterprises in the power battery sector, forming a complete chain from front-end materials through mid-stream battery production to back-end vehicle applications, achieving total industry output value of 2.85 billion yuan in 2025. Together, the two regions underpin Qingdao's battery materials industry fundamentals.
However, industrial shortcomings remain evident despite these achievements. The driving capacity of leading enterprises is insufficient, product value-added has room for improvement, and enterprise collaboration remains weak. Many companies are geographically clustered but maintain loose upstream and downstream connections, remaining at the stage of physical concentration rather than achieving the chemical integration of technology exchange, order sharing, and nearby supporting that would elevate the cluster's overall competitiveness. Addressing these gaps represents a key focus for the construction of the Pingdu-Laixi battery materials cluster.
Officials from Pingdu's Industry and Information Technology Bureau indicated plans to establish a scientific quality enterprise cultivation database following the principle of reserving, cultivating, growing, and expanding enterprises to promote high-quality development. The city will also implement supportive policies to guide enterprises in increasing R&D investment and enhancing independent innovation capabilities and competitiveness. A tiered cultivation mechanism for technology enterprises will be improved, with strengthened guidance on R&D expense collection and high-tech product revenue accounting, maintaining a balance of quantity and quality in expanding the high-tech enterprise cohort.
Laixi's Industry and Information Technology Bureau officials pledged to lead battery materials enterprises in accelerating transformation, speeding up research and application of sulfide solid-state batteries and oligowall carbon nanotubes. Full support will be provided for Xin Taihe to undertake the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology project, including construction of a 10,000-ton high-performance natural graphite anode materials demonstration line to serve as a leading example for the industry.