Government of Shandong county helps lithium project

A new energy project of lithium battery materials, jointly being funded by two top companies in the field, is under construction in Yangxin county – located in Binzhou city, in East China's Shandong province – with the help of financial aid from the local government.

The project is being organized by Shandong Ruiyang New Energy Technology Co Ltd – a high-tech enterprise co-founded by BTR New Material Group Co Ltd – and Shandong Jingyang Technology Co Ltd.

The venture specializes in the research, development, production and sales of new energy lithium battery materials – widely used in electric vehicles, energy storage and in other sectors.

With a total investment of 3.68 billion yuan ($514.9 million), the new project aims to have an annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tons of artificial graphite anode materials and 120,000 tons of new energy lithium battery material precursors in two phases.

Wang Zhen, the head of the company, said he was grateful for the financial support from the local government, which launched an initiative to help entrepreneurs realize their dreams.

He said the initiative enabled him to secure funds for the endeavor.

The Yangxin county financial service center has worked with the county's banking institutions to tailor financing plans for enterprises. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Yangxin Branch subsequently met the company's demand for large-scale financing by forming an intrabank syndicated loan totaling 800 million yuan.

Ji Rongbo, head of the Yangxin county bureau of industry and information technology, said the county had spared no efforts to support the entrepreneurs' dreams – constantly innovating new mechanisms to connect government and enterprises and fostering new drivers for business development.

Ji added that the county had assisted 249 entrepreneurs to date. (Edited by Fan Yuanyuan)