SKC Investment Firm KCFT Expands 5th Factory Investment... Preparing for Rapidly Growing Copper Foil Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] KCFT, a 100% subsidiary of SKC, has decided to invest in the expansion of its 5th factory. KCFT, acquired by SKC in January this year, is a global manufacturer of copper foil, a core material for electric vehicle batteries. With its advanced technology, KCFT aims to proactively respond to the rapidly growing market demand by increasing its high-quality copper foil production capacity through this expansion.

On the 5th, KCFT held a board meeting and decided to invest 81.5 billion KRW in expanding copper foil production capacity. Including the preliminary investments made last year, the total investment amounts to approximately 120 billion KRW. KCFT plans to build the 5th factory at its Jeongeup plant with an annual production capacity of about 10,000 tons by the third quarter of 2021. Commercialization is targeted for early 2022. After the completion of the 5th factory, KCFT’s annual copper foil production capacity will reach approximately 40,000 tons.

KCFT’s investment decision is aimed at actively responding to the rapidly growing electric vehicle battery market. According to SNE Research, the electric vehicle market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of about 28% until 2025, and the battery market is projected to grow by 40%. Accordingly, the demand for copper foil, a key battery material, is also expected to continuously increase.

In particular, the demand for ultra-thin copper foil under 6㎛, which KCFT prides itself on technologically, is expected to grow even faster. To increase the driving range of electric vehicles, higher battery capacity and weight reduction are necessary, and ultra-thin products are advantageous for this. Thinner copper foil allows more anode active material to be contained in the battery, leading to higher capacity and lighter weight.

KCFT possesses the technology to produce the thinnest copper foil in the world. In October 2019, KCFT demonstrated overwhelming technological prowess by mass-producing ultra-thin copper foil with a thickness of 4㎛?the thinnest in the world?at a width of 1.4 meters and a world-record length of 30 km per roll using proprietary technology. KCFT is preparing the planned 5th factory to produce thin, high-quality copper foil more quickly and with higher productivity.

KCFT is also considering global expansion. Entering markets such as the United States, Europe, and Asia, where battery customers are located, would enable rapid response to customer requests. These regions have available space at SKC production facilities, which would be advantageous in terms of speed and other aspects when establishing bases. KCFT is currently comprehensively reviewing overseas expansion plans together with SKC.

A KCFT representative said, "KCFT is one of the few copper foil manufacturers capable of producing high-quality products desired by global battery customers. We will continue to invest in developing high-function product manufacturing technology and top-level productivity to achieve continuous growth."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.