[Click eStock] "Cheonbo's Large-Scale Expansion, Increasing Dominance in the Secondary Battery Electrolyte Market"

Leading Next-Generation F Electrolyte Market with Large-Scale Expansion
Electrolyte Sales Expected to Increase Over 100% Annually for the Next 3 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Cheonbo, which holds a monopoly in the lithium salt market, a raw material for electrolytes used in secondary batteries, has embarked on a large-scale expansion. Analysts predict structural changes beyond simple expansion as the company focuses on the next-generation 'F electrolyte (LiFSI)'.

On the 13th, Korea Investment & Securities maintained a 'Buy' rating on Cheonbo and raised the target price by 24% to 310,000 KRW. The closing price the previous day was 219,000 KRW. This is based on the judgment that Cheonbo's recent announced expansion will enable structural growth.

Previously, Cheonbo benefited from the increased application of 'P electrolyte (LiPO2F2)', which began to appear at the end of last year in the lithium salt market, a key raw material for electrolytes. On the 7th, through its subsidiary Cheonbo BLS, the company announced plans to invest 512.5 billion KRW by 2026 to build a secondary battery electrolyte production plant in the Saemangeum Industrial Complex in Gunsan, Jeonbuk. Accordingly, Cheonbo's lithium salt additive production capacity is expected to expand from 4,000 tons at the end of this year to 27,000 tons by the end of 2026, and F electrolyte production volume from 1,000 tons at the end of this year to 21,000 tons by the end of 2026.

As P electrolyte is gradually replaced by F electrolyte and demand is expected to increase rapidly, there is also speculation that the expansion schedule may be accelerated. Generally, lithium salt used has been lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6). In some high-performance electric vehicles and secondary batteries from LG Energy Solution and China's CATL, only 1-10% of lithium salt usage includes F electrolyte additives. This proportion is expected to rise to as much as 100% in the future. In particular, F electrolyte is recognized for its superiority in stability and lifespan, and is emerging as the lithium salt that will completely replace LiPF6 in next-generation secondary batteries such as all-solid-state batteries or lithium metal batteries, which are considered to have lower stability.

Price competitiveness is also improving. Last year, F electrolyte was more than five times more expensive than LiPF6, but currently, LiPF6 prices have risen 2 to 3 times compared to the beginning of the year. Along with this, the price of next-generation F electrolyte products, enhanced by Cheonbo's mass production technology, is gradually decreasing, significantly narrowing the price gap.

Against this backdrop, Cheonbo's electrolyte sales are projected to increase at an average annual rate of 102% over three years, reaching 169.1 billion KRW this year, 329.6 billion KRW in 2022, and 630.5 billion KRW in 2023. Jeonghwan Kim, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, emphasized, "We strongly recommend buying Cheonbo, which is expected to benefit from changes in the secondary battery industry and applied technologies," adding, "It is recognized not only as a next-generation lithium salt monopoly company but also for its mass production technology."

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