Toray to construct EV battery plant in Europe
Japanese company Toray Industries has announced its intentions to build a factory for components for lithium-ion batteries in Europe. As part of a spending plan costing $1.08bn, Toray hopes to have the plant completed by late 2019, and is considering locations in Germany and Eastern Europe. The factory will build separators, the film that separates the batteries' electrodes, of which Toray is the second largest manufacturer in the world.
TOKYO -- Japan's Toray Industries will build a European plant to make parts for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, part of a 120 billion yen ($1.08 billion) spending plan through around 2020 that comes as the world gears up to leave fossil-fuel cars behind.

The materials giant's factory will produce separators -- films that partition batteries' positive and negative electrodes to prevent short circuits. Toray is the world's No. 2 maker of separators behind Japanese compatriot Asahi Kasei.