BTR bets big on EV market to drive growth

A worker prepares materials used for the production of lithium-ion anode materials at the research and development center of Shenzhen BTR New Energy Materials Inc in Guangdong province. Zhou Mo / China Daily

Shenzhen BTR New Energy Materials Inc, the world's leading anode materials supplier for lithium-ion batteries, said it is betting big on the development of the electric vehicle market to drive stronger growth of its business.

"The Chinese EV industry is growing at a fast speed. It is expected to become one of the most important EV markets in the world," said Huang Youyuan, deputy general manager of the company.

"That will promote the development of the battery sector, thereby creating greater momentum for our future growth," he added.

The company's revenue reached 1.5 billion yuan ($218 million) last year and the company aims to increase its sales to 10 billion yuan by 2022.

Established in 2000, BTR has been the world's biggest market player in the anode materials sector since 2011. According to market research organization Yano Research Institute, the company accounted for 31.8 percent of the global market share of anode materials in 2014.

"Many foreign companies think that Chinese products are of low technology and quality," said BTR Chairman He Xueqin. "We want to change their perception through our efforts to provide outstanding products."

The company said that 60 percent of its revenue comes from overseas markets, mainly South Korea and Japan, with international customers including such as Samsung Electronics Co, LG Electronics and Sony Corp.

But, Huang said his company would focus on its domestic market and the United States, which have huge potential due to their growing EV markets.

By the end of 2015, a total of 497,000 electric vehicles had been sold in China. It is estimated that EV sales in the country will exceed 2 million by 2020.

Zhao Xiang, an analyst with Beijing-based consultancy Analysys, said the rapid development of the Chinese EV market is going to bring big benefits to related industries.

But he also said that technologies related to battery power supplies still need to be improved to spur EV growth.

BTR is making efforts in that respect, said Huang.

"We aim to enhance battery endurance distance to more than 500 kilometers and reduce charging time to 10 minutes within the next several years, to make EV as cost-effective as gasoline-fueled vehicles," he said.