Ronbay Leases 67,000-Ton Korean NCM Cathode Plant to Related AKB
Ronbay disclosed on Oct. 22 that it will lease its Chungju plant to related party Amco Bay New Energy, after a sale stalled, to keep supplying North American customers under US rules.
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Ronbay's lease of the Chungju plant to AKB, with the figures reported by TheElec.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Ronbay, the Chinese cathode materials maker, will lease its Chungju plant in South Korea, with 67,000 metric tons a year of high-nickel NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) cathode capacity, to Amco Bay New Energy (AKB), TheElec reported on Oct. 28.
The leased plant holds 67,000 t a year; AKB's planned plant would lift the total to 131,000 t, TheElec reports.
Illustration (AI-generated)
According to TheElec, Ronbay disclosed the related-party transaction to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Oct. 22. The lease covers the plant, its production equipment and a transfer of related patents. Of the capacity, 60,000 tons belong to JAESE Tech and 7,000 tons to JAESEEnergy, both Ronbay's Korean subsidiaries, which were created in March when JS Energy was split.
The reason is US trade rules. TheElec says Ronbay cited the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and changed purchasing requirements at North American customers, which made it hard for JAESEEnergy to keep supplying them from October. Ronbay moved production and sales to AKB to avoid a supply suspension. TheElec describes the structure as a workaround to US regulations.
Why the Sale Became a Lease
Ronbay agreed in March to sell its whole stake in JAESEEnergy to AKB for $97 million, and later planned to transfer JAESE Tech's Chungju facilities too. The equity sale stalled because AKB could not secure acquisition financing, which Ronbay estimated would exceed $500 million for the entire business. Ronbay said halting the Chungju plant would cost it more than 200 million yuan a year in depreciation, labor and other expenses, so it chose a lease that lets it keep ownership.
AKB sits under a Singapore investment entity. Amco Bay Holdings owns 75.1% of it and JAESEEnergy holds 24.9%. Ronbay chairman Bai Houshan is the registered shareholder of Amco Bay Holdings, and Ronbay classifies AKB as a related company of its controlling shareholder.
What AKB Says It Will Ship
AKB said on the same day that it completed its first export of high-nickel NCM cathode material to US customers, its first since it was set up in December 2025. It said it has agreed a total supply volume of 60,000 tons with North American customers, with full-scale deliveries starting in January 2027. It plans a further 64,000-ton NCM plant in Chungju's foreign investment zone by 2029, which would lift total capacity to 131,000 tons a year.
For the cell supply chain, the point is that supply to North American customers now rests on an ownership structure rather than a change of owner. Voltgrid News has tracked how Chinese battery makers are spreading investment abroad, and earlier reported that Gotion abandoned its Michigan plant in a settlement.
What is not confirmed yet
The lease term and rent come from the Shanghai filing, which TheElec does not detail, and no US customer is named. Whether US authorities and the customers accept the structure is not stated, and the 2029 expansion has no stated financing. The 60,000-ton supply volume and the export figures are AKB's own statements.
