CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Celgard, LLC (Celgard), a subsidiary of Polypore International, LP (Polypore), an Asahi Kasei Company is pleased to announce a major expansion at its Celgard manufacturing site in Charlotte, North Carolina. Asahi Kasei approved investment in Hipore^™ wet-process coating and finishing lines at the site to meet the increasing demand for lithium-ion battery (LIB) separator in the electric vehicle (EV) market.

The Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have identified the domestic U.S. battery market as a critical supply chain focus area for the nation. Investments in Celgard's Charlotte plant will allow the company to expand existing infrastructure to quickly meet demand of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) separator supply chain and domestic customers.

Celgard manufactures dry-process membrane separator also used in vehicle electrification. The company already has a skilled employee base capable of applying technical coatings to base film shipped from Hipore^™ sister locations and completing finishing steps required to meet customer specifications. Both wet-process and dry-process membranes have unique properties that meet a variety of needs in the automotive market. With the expansion, the Celgard manufacturing site will be positioned to provide the best domestically sourced solutions to the market with a complete product portfolio.

Chad Schuchmann, Polypore's CEO, shared this about the investment: "Celgard has been a key player in the domestic EV and lithium-ion battery supply chain from the beginning and our expansion in North America not only further solidifies our position as a market leader with a skilled workforce but also fully supports the nation's efforts to establish a thriving domestic lithium battery and EV supply chain."

Construction will begin at the Charlotte site starting in early 2024 with operations planned to start up in 2026. The expansion will create about 100 new clean-energy jobs at the Charlotte facility. 

About Celgard and Polypore

Celgard specializes in solvent-free, coated and uncoated, dry-process microporous membranes used as separators that are a major component of lithium-ion batteries. Celgard's battery separator technology is important to the performance of lithium-ion batteries for electric drive vehicles, energy storage systems and other applications.

Celgard, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polypore International, LP, an Asahi Kasei Company.

Polypore is a global company with facilities in nine countries specializing in microporous membranes used in electric and nonelectric vehicles, energy storage systems and specialty applications. 

Celgard® dry-process and HiporeTM wet-process coated and uncoated microporous membranes are used as separators in various lithium-ion batteries utilized primarily in electric drive vehicles (EDV) and other applications.