CHARLOTTE — Asahi Kasei recently opened its expanded Celgard manufacturing facility in Charlotte, tying into a deal struck last year with Toyota as well as the company’s North American expansion plans.
The facility at 13610 S. Ridge Drive will now accommodate production of Celgard’s wet-process lithium-ion battery separators. This is its first North American location with that capability.
The company says this expansion will create more than 100 jobs in the area, nearly doubling its current workforce.
The upgraded Charlotte facility will support Celgard’s North America expansion plans. It believes North America is a key growth market given China’s battery separator market share.
“Ninety percent of the world’s separator supply is from China ... so we know given energy and national security are tied, being a North American supplier matters,” said Sam Mills, president of Asahi Kasei Battery Separator North America. “Being a non-Chinese supplier matters ... (and) being a North America-based producer for the North American market is a smart place to be and the right place to be to capture this growing demand.”
Most of the new jobs are expected to open in 2027 and 2028.
Read more here.
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
