Lotte Chemical and US Soelect Establish Joint Venture for 'Lithium Metal Anode Materials'

Reviewing Construction of Lithium Metal Anode Factory Worth Approximately 250 Billion KRW by 2025

Lotte Chemical announced that it signed a business agreement on the 26th with SOELECT, a startup developing lithium metal anode materials and solid electrolytes, which are gaining attention as core materials for next-generation batteries. (Photo by Lotte Chemical)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Lotte Chemical is partnering with a U.S. electric vehicle battery startup to establish a local joint venture.

On the 27th, Lotte Chemical announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with SOELECT, a startup developing lithium metal anode materials and solid electrolytes, which are gaining attention as key materials for next-generation batteries.

According to the agreement signed the previous day, the two companies agreed to establish a joint venture (JV) and consider building a gigawatt-hour (GWh) scale lithium metal anode production facility in the U.S. worth approximately $200 million (about 252 billion KRW) by 2025. Lithium metal batteries replace the anode material with lithium (metal). Compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries that use graphite or silicon as anode materials, they feature superior performance and stability. By increasing energy density and charging speed, they extend the driving range and battery lifespan of electric vehicles, making them a promising material for future batteries. In February, Lotte Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) of Lotte Group, invested $11 million (about 1.3 billion KRW) in SOELECT together with General Motors Ventures (GMV) and Daol Investment (formerly KTB Network) in the U.S.

The investment by Lotte Ventures was raised through the Lotte Chemical Innovation Fund No. 2, which was established with 13 billion KRW in total capital, of which Lotte Chemical contributed 9.9 billion KRW, accounting for 76%. Lee Young-jun, head of Lotte Chemical’s Battery Materials Business Unit, stated, "By combining Lotte Chemical’s material technology and global business capabilities with SOELECT’s lithium metal anode technology, we will rapidly secure core next-generation battery technologies and capture the global market. We will actively target the future global battery materials market, focusing on the U.S., where electric vehicle demand is increasing and battery import dependence is high."

SOELECT CEO Cho Sung-jin said, "We are very pleased to sign an MOU and start a partnership with Lotte Chemical, a world-class chemical company. The joint venture with Lotte Chemical will play a crucial role in the mass production of lithium metal anodes and contribute to establishing the battery and electric vehicle supply chain in the U.S."

Last month, Lotte Chemical established the Battery Materials Business Unit, led by Lee Young-jun, head of Advanced Materials Business, and is actively expanding its battery materials business as part of its future growth engines. In May last year, the company invested 233 billion KRW to build production facilities for high-purity ethylene carbonate (EC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC), organic solvents for electric vehicle battery electrolytes, at the Daesan plant, aiming for completion in the second half of 2023. Regarding the separator business, one of the four major battery materials, the company plans to expand annual production capacity from the current 4,000 tons to 100,000 tons and sales to 200 billion KRW by 2025.

In January, Lotte Chemical invested 65 billion KRW in Standard Energy, which developed the world’s first vanadium ion battery, recognized as a next-generation battery for energy storage systems (ESS), securing a 15% stake as the second-largest shareholder, accelerating its diversified entry into the battery materials business. Going forward, Lotte Chemical plans to grow into a core company in the supply chain connecting electric vehicles, batteries, and materials through systematic and proactive investments and nurturing, in preparation for the increasing demand for eco-friendly vehicles and the expansion of renewable energy.

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