(Yicai) March 6 -- A unit of China's Do-Fluoride New Materials is partnering with Soulbrain Holdings, a South Korean chip and battery materials producer, to form a joint venture factory for a lithium salt widely used as a battery electrolyte and further expand overseas.

Most of the lithium hexafluorophosphate produced by the JV will be sold to Soulbrain’s electrolyte plants worldwide, Henan province-based Do-Fluoride announced yesterday, without disclosing the level of investment or planned production capacity.

Do-Fluoride is one of the world's largest producers and sellers of lithium hexafluorophosphate, or LiPF6, it said last October. 

As domestic competition heats up, Do-Fluoride is actively developing business in South Korea, Europe, and the United States. The firm’s LiPF6 has been steadily exported to South Korean and Japanese companies such as Soulbrain, Enchem, and Mitsubishi. Its battery products have entered the North American energy storage market, and overseas orders have grown steadily, it added. 

Do-Fluoride’s net profit slumped 74 percent to CNY500 million (USD69.5 million) last year, as a result of big swings in raw material prices. Revenue fell 3 percent to CNY11.9 billion (USD1.7 billion).

Editor: Emmi Laine