ENTEK Announces Absorptive Glass Mat (AGM) Separator Production Expansion to India and the US

LEBANON, Ore., April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ENTEK announced strategic investments to expand the company's global manufacturing footprint of Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) separator materials into the United States and India to serve the expanding demand for energy storage solutions for inverters, industrial applications and electric vehicles (EVs).  ENTEK is actively engaged in site selection in India and the US for the development of fully integrated AGM production plants, including both fiber production and paper lines.  ENTEK will be the first producer of glass fiber for AGM in India, ensuring control over quality, cost and security of supply to provide a strong value proposition for customers.

"ENTEK is committed to producing high quality AGM in India and the US to serve the growing need for this product in energy storage solutions for our changing world.  Our outstanding team in Japan has a long history and wealth of experience producing high-performance AGM products for some of the most demanding customers in the world. That technical expertise, together with our equipment manufacturing capabilities, provides the core competencies to successfully scale local production to serve the growing markets in India and the US," said Larry Keith, CEO of ENTEK. 

ENTEK is the only separator manufacturer in the world producing all three primary separator technologies (PE, AGM, and lithium separators). It is well positioned to leverage this broad portfolio of products to energy storage applications globally, including both internal combustion and electric vehicles.

Increasing vehicle power demands and the growth of EV production resulting from consumer demand, stricter emissions regulations, comfort and convenience features, and safety requirements is driving an evolution from standard flooded batteries to advanced battery types such as EFB and AGM.  In India, in addition to transportation, there is rapid growth in industrial, telecom, and inverter battery demand requiring AGM.  This outsized growth opportunity in advanced batteries for automotive, coupled with a significant AGM market opportunity for industrial and telecom batteries globally, presents a scalable long-term growth opportunity for ENTEK.

About ENTEK

For more than 35 years, ENTEK has been an innovator and leading worldwide designer and producer of highly reliable microporous polyethylene battery separators for lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries. ENTEK separators are used in SLI, golf carts and a wide range of industrial applications, and are in great demand for products that require high energy or high voltage systems such as secondary batteries in portable devices and as primary batteries in critical systems. ENTEK's vertically integrated equipment division, with decades of battery separator production equipment experience, uniquely positions ENTEK to provide the agility and expertise to produce the equipment employed in ENTEK's battery separator lines. ENTEK is headquartered in Lebanon, Oregon, USA with facilities in the United Kingdom, Japan, China and Indonesia. Its products are sold through its sales offices and distributors worldwide. For more information, visit www.entek.com.