At the construction site of Xiancun Town in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, the first wet process diaphragm production equipment is about to enter the site, and the construction of the Cangzhou Mingzhu South China Base has officially started. This is the first South China strategic core project implemented by the Guangzhou State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission after taking over Cangzhou Mingzhu, with a total investment of 3.38 billion yuan, targeting the precise layout of the 5 μ m high-end lithium battery separator track.

In the first half of 2026, China's lithium battery separator production surged by 62.9% year-on-year, and the supply and demand gap for ultra-thin products continued to widen. The implementation of this new project directly promotes the production capacity layout of leading domestic lithium battery separator enterprises to the core hinterland of the South China new energy industry cluster.

3.38 billion project anchors high-end ultra-thin track

The project is jointly operated by Cangzhou Mingzhu, Zengcheng Production Investment, and Guangzhou Light Industry, with a registered capital of 1.2 billion yuan. Cangzhou Mingzhu holds 75% of the shares and leads the construction and operation. Plan to build 8 wet process lithium battery separator production lines and 7 PE pipeline production lines, focusing on high-end 5 μ m lithium battery separator products. After reaching production capacity, the expected annual output value is 1.51 billion yuan, directly supplying top customers such as CATL and BYD.

After the project is fully put into operation, the total annual production capacity of Cangzhou Mingzhu wet lithium battery separators will reach 4.19 billion square meters, and the annual production capacity of PE pipelines will be increased to 229500 tons, further consolidating the industry's leading production capacity advantage.

Industry supply and demand shift towards substantial tight balance

In 2025, the annual shipment volume of lithium battery separators in China reached 32.3 billion square meters, a year-on-year increase of 45.4%. In the first half of 2026, the national separator production has reached 21.789 billion square meters, with a year-on-year growth rate of 62.9%. The industry predicts that the peak capacity utilization rate of wet process separators will exceed 85% in the second half of 2026, and the industry has officially entered a substantial shortage stage. The annual demand for 5 μ m ultra-thin separators will double from 3 billion square meters last year to 6.3 billion square meters, becoming the mainstream configuration of power batteries. The competition for ultra-thin technology has become the core winner in the next stage of the industry. Keywords: lithium battery separator production, new energy

From the precision coating equipment waiting to enter the construction site in Zengcheng, to the rapidly circulating power battery orders in the South China New Energy Industry Cluster, the landing of the Cangzhou Mingzhu South China Base is not only a material enterprise's southward layout of production capacity, but also a key step for the domestic lithium battery separator industry to sprint towards high-end ultra-thin.Editor/Cheng Liting