UBE Maxell Co, a joint venture between UBE Corporation and Maxell Corporation, is moving to significantly expand its lithium-ion battery separator materials business with a new manufacturing facility at its Sakai Plant.

 

The company has confirmed plans to build a new separator base film production facility aimed at meeting rising demand from the automotive lithium-ion battery market. The expansion follows an earlier separator raw material plant at the same site, which is scheduled for completion in autumn 2026.

 

Construction will roll out in two phases—first beginning in fiscal 2026, followed by a second phase in fiscal 2029. Once completed, the expansion is expected to boost separator raw material manufacturing capacity by approximately 50% compared with current levels.

 

The move comes as the global shift toward decarbonisation continues to accelerate, driving long-term growth in the electric vehicle (xEV) sector and strengthening demand for lithium-ion battery components, particularly separators.

 

While EV market expansion has shown signs of short-term adjustment, demand from hybrid vehicles (HV) remains strong, helping sustain overall automotive battery consumption. At the same time, growth is also being fuelled by non-automotive applications, including energy storage systems (ESS), supported by rising electricity demand from AI data centres and increased renewable energy deployment.

 

UBE Maxell noted that its dry-process separators are already widely used in automotive lithium-ion batteries due to their safety and performance advantages. 

 

The company said it will continue scaling capacity and advancing applications to serve both next-generation xEVs and emerging energy storage markets.