In recent years, with the popularization of new energy vehicles, the rapid development of the power battery industry has accelerated, leading to a substantial increase in demand for new energy materials. Against this background, Jinchuan Group Nickel Salts Co., Ltd., which converts crude raw materials into precursor materials, has realized the production of important raw materials, such as nickel sulfate, for ternary battery materials.
The nickel sulfate production plant of Jinchuan Group Nickel Salt
The main raw materials for producing nickel sulfate come from the crude nickel sulfate solutions of Lanzhou Jinchuan New Material Techonology Co., Ltd. and the copper salt plant of Jinchuan Group Copper Co., Ltd. Originally considered as by-products, these crude nickel sulfate solutions have now become "treasures" for Jinchuan Group Nickel Salt.
"Hauling the crude nickel sulfate solutions into the production system, the flagship product nickel sulfate can be produced in about two days, followed by the production of nickel chloride, nickel oxide, and other products," said Han Junwen, vice plant manager of Jinchuan Group Nickel Salt’s raw material plant.
The nickel sulfate production plant of Jinchuan Group Nickel Salt
Meanwhile, the key project of Jinchuan Group during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) - the 100,000-ton/year nickel sulfate solution upgrading project for power batteries, is an important measure for Jinchuan Group to explore its operations and better serve the ternary precursor project.
"The product of this project is supplied to the ternary precursor project in the form of nickel sulfate solution, reducing the conventional processes of evaporation crystallization, drying, and packaging, which saves water, electricity, steam, as well as auxiliary materials such as packaging bags and trays, thus reducing production costs. At the same time, ternary precursor production can also reduce the process of preparing nickel sulfate solution, saving processing costs, and achieving a 'win-win' situation with downstream users. This will further improve the layout of the power battery industry chain of Jinchuan Group, providing opportunities to seize the development of the new energy vehicle industry," said Han.
In recent years, the Jinchuan Group Nickel Salt has achieved significant upgrades and transformations in its production processes and equipment. This has led to the full automation of key processes and control points in the battery-grade nickel sulfate production line, including the extraction process, and the unmanned operation of the entire evaporation process. The high-end electroplating-grade nickel sulfate production line has also achieved full automation in production and product packaging, with key processes being informatized, resulting in over 30 related technological, technical, and formulation achievements.
In March 2023, Jinchuan Group Nickel Salt became one of the 200 companies nationwide to be recognized as a world-class specialized, refined, and new demonstration enterprise, and the only enterprise in Gansu province to be selected.
Currently, it has become a professional company primarily engaged in the production of nickel sulfate, nickel oxide, nickel chloride, and nickel carbonate. It possesses various technical solutions for treating crude nickel sulfate solutions, having the capacity to produce 205,000 tons of nickel sulfate, 10,000 tons of nickel chloride, 1,000 tons of nickel carbonate, and 1,500 tons of nickel oxide annually.
