Chairman Koo Kwang-mo Inspects Battery Supply Chain at LG Chem Plant Ahead of US Visit

Visited Cheongju LG Chem Cathode Material Plant on the 17th to Inspect Supply Chain
LG Chem Cheongju Plant is a Key Base for Cathode Material Production
Serving as a Global Control Tower

Gu Kwang-mo, CEO (Chairman) of LG Corporation, visited the LG Chem cathode material plant located in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do on the 17th to review the battery material supply chain and production strategy. Accompanying Chairman Gu on the site visit were Kwon Bong-seok, COO (Vice Chairman) of LG Corporation, Hong Beom-sik, Head of LG Corporation’s Corporate Strategy Division (President), and Lee Hyang-mok, Head of LG Chem’s Cathode Material Business Division (Vice President).

LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo is visiting LG Chem's Cheongju plant on the 17th, inspecting the calcination process line, one of the key processes in cathode material production.

Chairman Gu carefully inspected the cathode material production line within the Cheongju plant and reviewed the production status and global supply chain strategy. The Cheongju plant serves as the core base for LG Chem’s cathode material production and acts as the control tower for global production. Cathode materials account for more than 40% of the battery production cost and are key materials that determine battery performance such as capacity and lifespan.

At the site, Chairman Gu emphasized the importance of the global supply chain and encouraged the members of the Cheongju plant who produce cathode materials, a core component of electric vehicle batteries. He stated, “Cathode materials are the foundation of core competitiveness in the battery business and another future growth engine, so it is important to continuously maintain a leading competitive edge.”

This visit was conducted ahead of the upcoming schedule where Chairman Gu, along with the heads of the four major conglomerates and five economic organizations, will accompany President Yoon Suk-yeol on his visit to the United States next month as part of an economic delegation. In the context of the rapidly growing electric vehicle battery market, the visit aimed to review the global supply chain and proactively and preemptively respond to changes in the global battery material market such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).

LG Chem recognizes that the environmental changes in the battery-related industry are very rapid and volatile, so it is necessary to strengthen sensing capabilities across the industry and establish a stable supply chain in advance. In particular, LG Chem’s Cheongju plant produces high-nickel NCMA (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese-Aluminum) cathode materials for next-generation electric vehicle batteries. NCMA cathode materials embody LG Chem’s material technology, increasing the nickel content that determines energy density while applying aluminum for high stability, thereby enhancing both the battery’s output and stability.

The annual production capacity of cathode materials at the Cheongju plant is approximately 70,000 tons as of this year. This amount is sufficient to produce batteries for about 700,000 high-performance pure electric vehicles (EVs) capable of driving 500 km.

Currently, LG Chem produces about 120,000 tons of cathode materials annually at global production lines including the Cheongju plant. With the operation of the Gumi production line in Gyeongbuk, scheduled for completion this year, LG Chem will secure an annual production capacity of 180,000 tons of cathode materials by 2024. This quantity can be used for batteries in approximately 1.8 million high-performance pure electric vehicles.

LG Chem is increasing production capacity to meet the cathode material demand of global electric vehicle manufacturers. LG Chem aims to grow its battery materials business sales, including cathode materials, from about 5 trillion KRW last year to approximately 20 trillion KRW by 2027, a fourfold increase.

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