American Battery partners with Chinese firm, plans Asian launch

American Battery Factory Inc. (ABF), a battery manufacturer creating a domestic supply chain of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery located in American Fork, has signed a partnership agreement with KAN Battery Co. Ltd. of Zhejiang, China, to develop a pilot line of battery cells at its Far East facility and accelerate the process of bringing its technology and expertise to the United States. As part of the collaboration, ABF will secure training in the latest analytics and machining for its workforce, refine battery cell production and launch its subsidiary, ABF China.

At the facility in China, ABF will work alongside KAN Battery to utilize a factory line to produce high-capacity prismatic cells. The line, which covers 750,000 square feet, will enable the company to immediately start production at scale, ABF said. As part of the partnership, the company will evolve its current battery chemistry for its cells. By refining the production process while it prepares for the construction of its first factory in Tucson, Arizona, ABF will be positioned to bring together cutting-edge manufacturing machining combined with the battery chemistry and business analytics to the U.S. at launch.

“From the beginning of our mission to build a domestic supply chain, we have recognized the need to draw on the best examples of battery manufacturing throughout the world,” said Jim Ge, CEO of American Battery Factory. “Our partnership with KAN Battery is a manifestation of this, an opportunity to learn from world-class manufacturers and perfect our process ahead of our U.S. launch.”

Along with overcoming a potential three-year scale-up in the United States and essentially entering production now, these steps are also part of a natural progression toward onshoring a domestic supply chain of battery cells and will accelerate ABF’s timeline to have the first phase of its U.S. “gigafactory” completed in the second half of 2026, Ge said.

“In reality, the United States is 10 years behind the leaders of battery cell production. To develop a domestic supply chain, we must work together with the best in the world,” said John Kem, president of American Battery Factory. “Working with KAN Battery gives us an opportunity to bring expertise back to the United States and train U.S. workers with the best manufacturing and chemistry innovation available to date. This will help us leap forward, bringing our line of lithium iron phosphate prismatic cells to our U.S. gigafactory for full-scale production.”

“As part of the global energy transition, the battery industry is at a turning point with increased growth in the U.S. battery storage market than ever before,” said Zheyu Jin, CEO of KAN Battery. “Working alongside American Battery Factory has been beneficial for all of us as we look to expand battery accessibility across the globe. We look forward to our continued collaboration with ABF China.”