Manufacturing
Cornex breaks ground on 70 GWh battery mega-plant in Hubei
The storage product lines will have a total capacity of 50 GWh and focus on production of high-capacity 588 Ah to 1000 Ah battery cells.
By
Vincent Shaw
Nov 03, 2025
Industry
Manufacturing
Image: Cornex, WeChat
Cornex New Energy has begun construction of a 70 GWh lithium-ion battery manufacturing complex in China’s Hubei province, marking the company’s most ambitious capacity expansion to date. The project, which broke ground on October 28, represents a total investment of CNY 22 billion and is intended to strengthen the company’s push into the top tier of global suppliers as competition intensifies in the global battery storage supply chain.
The facility, located in Xiangyang High-tech Zone, is the fourth major production base in Cornex’s manufacturing network and is planned to include cell production, pack assembly and integrated storage system manufacturing. Local authorities cleared land, issued permits and advanced infrastructure preparations within 44 days of an agreement signing in September – a pace that company chairman Dai Deming described as “the Xiangyang speed”.
Cornex expects production to begin by the end of 2026, supporting annual output valued at CNY 30 billion and creating 5,000 jobs. One of the plant’s core workshops is designed with an effective capacity exceeding 30 GWh, which the company says will set a new industry benchmark.
The project is structured around a dual-focus production strategy: 50 GWh dedicated to energy storage and 20 GWh to electric vehicle batteries.
The storage product lines will centre on high-capacity 588 Ah to 1000 Ah cells with 190–195Wh/kg energy density, designed for grid and commercial applications and rated for more than 15,000 charge cycles.
The EV battery segment will focus on Cornex’s Everest fast-charging platform, using dual-sided ceramic separators to support charging speeds that can provide up to 600km of driving range in ten minutes. Dai said the Xiangyang base would deploy the company’s latest equipment and process technologies to create a “high-efficiency, intelligent and globally competitive super-factory”.
With the addition of Xiangyang, Cornex’s capacity layout forms what the company calls a “four-base linkage”. Its Wuhan facility provides roughly 60 GWh focused on EV cells, while Xiaogan supplies about 40 GWh primarily for storage. A first-phase 10 GWh plant is operating in Yichang, where an 80 GWh second phase began construction in September. Total planned capacity now exceeds 500 GWh, consolidating a regional manufacturing corridor across Hubei province.
Cornex, founded only four years ago, has rapidly climbed the industry rankings on the back of surging storage demand. According to third-party industry research institute LiThink, in 2024, CORNEX shipped 20 GWh battery for storage, while this skyrocketed when entering 2025. By end of September, Cornex has shipped over 50 GWh BESS batteries, 150% higher than the entire 2024. The shipment of Q3 exceeded 25 GW which pushed Cornex ranked third globally, following CATL and BYD. Cornex said it has on-hand orders over 80 GWh with 50 GWh from overseas customers by end of October.
The Xiangyang project is deeply backed by local government. The city government coordinated land, approvals and site preparation through a dedicated task force. Officials deployed heavy equipment around the clock during a period of continuous rain to maintain construction progress. The base is also the first in Xiangyang to be funded through a joint equity model combining local state-owned capital and a private-sector manufacturer, a structure local officials described as a template for attracting additional industrial investment.
“The energy transition is inevitable, and the long-term market space remains vast,” Dai said at the ceremony, framing the Xiangyang base as a milestone in Cornex’s aim to become an ESS giant and a leader in China’s battery industry development.
ess-news.com
My comments:
Canada today announced a number of new factories being built just for battery storage!
Bye bye America.
Eric |
