MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Commission says it has approved, under EU state aid rules, Hungary’s EUR46.5-million (USD52.5 million) investment aid to Toray Industries for a new lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery separator film (BSF) plant in the Kozep-Dunantul Region, said Chemweek.
The aid will contribute to the region's development while preserving competition, the Commission says. "The positive effects of the project on regional development clearly outweigh any distortion of competition brought about by the state aid," the Commission says.
The Commission says it would be impossible to carry out the project in Hungary or any other EU country without the public funding, that the aid is limited to the minimum necessary to trigger the investment in Hungary, and that it will contribute to job creation as well as economic development, and to the competitiveness of a disadvantages region.
The project started in 2019 and is planned to be completed in 2023. It will be Toray's first plant to produce BSF in Europe and is expected to create almost 200 direct jobs, the Commission says. The Kozep-Dunantul area is eligible for regional aid under EU law, the Commission notes.
The EU’s guidelines on regional state aid enable member states to support economic development and employment in less developed regions and foster regional cohesion in the EU single market.
BSFs are a key component of Li-ion batteries. They function as the separator of the two major building blocks of a battery, preventing short circuits while allowing the movements of ions, the Commission says.
The Commission launched the European Battery Alliance initiative in October 2017 to support the development of a competitive manufacturing value chain in Europe with sustainable battery cells at its core. There has been tangible progress in creating a European battery production industry, since the launch of the initiative, the Commission says.
As MRC informed earlier, Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it will lift production capacity for Torayfan oriented polypropylene film for Automotive capacitors by 60% at its Tsuchiura Plant in Ibaraki Prefecture in 2022. The goal is to capitalize on an expanding market for electric vehicles. Torayfan is a lighter plastic film among other plastic films.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
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