In order to strengthen the group's layout in the energy storage industry, Formosa, a subsidiary of Taiwan Chemical Corporation, announced its investment in Formosatree. Formosa Biomedical invested NT$459 million in Formosatree and acquired a 30% stake. Formosa Biomedical stated that this investment is intended for future development of new energy storage sites with Formosatree. Following this transaction, Formosa Group will hold 70% of Formosatree's shares, with New Smart holding 40% and Formosa Biomedical holding 30%.
With the trends of carbon neutrality, green energy, and electric vehicles gaining momentum, Formosa Corporation is actively embarking on a multi-track transformation plan. Among them, New Smart, a joint venture between Formosa's four main businesses and Formosa Biomedical, led by Rui-Yu Wang, a member of the Formosa Corporate Management Committee, is spearheading the group's push into new energy such as batteries and energy storage.
In response to the positioning of the new energy ecosystem and industrial chain integration, New Smart has outlined four major zones for its operational layout. Among them, the Changhua Binhai Industrial base focuses on battery cores, modules, battery recycling, key materials, and components. The Changhua base is for automated module production lines (including household energy storage and large and medium-sized battery module production lines). Ming Chi University of Technology Green Energy Center is responsible for solid-state battery trial production lines and smart vehicle development. The Tainan microalgae base aims to promote large-scale production lines for microalgae.
To accelerate its operational capabilities, New Smart adopts both self-construction and strategic alliance approaches. In addition to expanding the scale of its energy storage system business, an investment is being made in the construction of the largest lithium iron phosphate battery core plant in Taiwan in the Changhua Binhai Industrial Park. The first phase, with a capacity of 2.1GWh, is expected to be completed and put into production in the third quarter, and plans for the second phase investment are already underway. Furthermore, there are plans to launch an investment project for a waste battery recycling plant, with an estimated investment of NT$1 billion for the first phase of battery recycling production lines.
Moreover, New Smart announced in early August last year that it would invest NT$300 million to acquire a 9.07% stake in Taiwan's lithium battery energy storage system manufacturer, Storage Profit Technology. Storage Profit Technology will deepen cooperation with New Smart and introduce domestically produced lithium iron phosphate battery cores produced by New Smart, enhancing the opportunities for energy storage in the semiconductor industry.
In line with the Ministry of Transportation's "2030 Passenger Vehicle Electrification Promotion Plan," New Smart has already been in talks with various electric bus and energy storage site operators in Taiwan for cooperation. Projects for electric commercial vehicles, including 2.5-ton and 5-ton electric logistics vehicles, are also underway for battery module development.
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