German BOPP film specialist Treofan (Raunheim; www.treofan.com) has won its first major supply contract for its "TreoPore" micro-porous PP separator film. The customer is an up-and-coming Chinese manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for electric buses. P&S Market Research estimates the global market for electric buses is to grow by around 20% annually between now and 2025, with China accounting for half of this growth.

The contract is fixed until the end of this year, but includes a declaration of intent for the film quantity supply to increase to 28 million m²/y in 2020. This amount is approximately the separator film area needed for 50,000 standard battery packs, each containing 56 kWh of energy. “The biaxial stretching of the film ensures very even mechanical and electrical properties, significantly improving operational reliability and battery performance,” says Franz Josef Kruger, head of the Treopore Business Unit at Treofan.

This market has been dominated by Japanese producers, so the contract marks the first large-scale entry of a European battery separator film manufacturer. “The rapidly growing electric car market in Asia offers fantastic opportunities – and we’re determined to make the most of them,” says Walter Bickel, CEO of the Treofan Group.