Asahi Kasei opens lithium-ion separator coating line at Celgard's Charlotte plant

Asahi Kasei has opened a Hipore wet-process lithium-ion battery separator coating line at its Celgard manufacturing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, establishing North America-based coating and supply capability for its wet-process separators.

The coating line adds wet-process separators to a plant that has produced dry-process separators in the US since 1986. Asahi Kasei made the investment decision in 2023, and commercial production is scheduled to begin in the second half of fiscal 2026.

Toyota Tsusho has entered a capacity rights agreement tied to the facility.

A separator is the porous membrane that keeps a lithium-ion cell’s anode and cathode apart while letting ions pass between them. Wet-process and dry-process separators are made by different manufacturing routes.

The Charlotte line is paired with a wet-process separator plant under construction in Canada, which Asahi Kasei says is progressing according to plan. The company describes the coating line as the first step toward a regional supply structure for wet-process separators, and says North American battery demand will expand beyond electric vehicles into energy storage systems.

“By leveraging Celgard’s experienced workforce and established operations, we are expanding our North American product portfolio to include both dry-process and Hipore wet-process technologies,” said Ryu Taniguchi, President of Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Corporation. “Together with our planned separator facility in Canada, this investment will bring production capabilities closer to the region’s battery market and position Asahi Kasei to swiftly respond as demand grows across electric vehicles and energy storage systems.”

Source: Asahi Kasei