Lotte Energy Materials "Expanding High-End Copper Foil... Doubling Market Share by 2028"

First Press Conference After Lotte Acquisition
CEO Kim Yeonseop Announces Growth Strategy

Lotte Energy Materials (formerly Iljin Materials) is significantly strengthening its global high-end copper foil business to increase its order backlog to 20 trillion KRW by 2025. By 2028, it aims to grow its market share in the high-end copper foil market to 30%. This target is more than double the 13% market share of general-purpose copper foil in 2021.

Kim Yeon-seop, CEO of Lotte Energy Materials, announced the growth strategy at a press conference held on the 4th at a hotel in Songpa-gu, Seoul, stating, "Based on our industry-first ultra-high strength and ultra-elongation copper foil technology, we will expand our global key bases in North America, Europe, and Malaysia," adding, "We will become the global No.1 company in high-end copper foil." CEO Kim also said, "Our order backlog target for this year is 15 trillion KRW," and "We plan to expand global copper foil production to 240,000 tons by 2028."

Having been incorporated as a subsidiary of Lotte Chemical in March this year, Lotte Energy Materials also revealed plans to develop next-generation battery materials as one of its four core growth strategies. He said, "We aim to enter the anode material market through in-house technology development and equity investments in advanced developers," and "We plan to complete lab-scale development of third-generation silicon composite anode active materials within this year."

By next year, pilot production of moisture-stable sulfide-based solid electrolyte products and the establishment of a mass production line for LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) cathode active materials will also be completed. CEO Kim stated, "Mass production of electric vehicles equipped with LFP batteries is expected around 2025," and "Ultra-thin copper foil products are essential for improving the energy density of LFP batteries."

Kim Yeonseop, CEO of Lotte Energy Materials, is presenting the growth strategy at a press conference held at a hotel in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 4th.
[Photo by Choi Seoyoon]

He also cited 'high-end ultra-differentiated technology' as a growth strategy. CEO Kim said, "In the copper foil market, high quality and supply stability are more important than price in this tech-leading market," adding, "We were the first in Korea to succeed in domestic copper foil production and have built a diverse product lineup including high-strength, high-elongation, high value-added high-end products, leading the growth of the copper foil industry."

He added, "Electric vehicles are expected to require batteries of about 3,700 GW for approximately 57 million units by 2030," and "Current copper foil demand of about 500,000 tons is expected to expand more than fourfold to about 2.2 million tons by 2030." He further noted, "The leading growth products in copper foil will be ultra-thin, high-strength, high-elongation high-end copper foil products."

Copper foil used in electric vehicle batteries is divided into general-purpose and high-end types. The grade of copper foil products is classified based on thickness, strength, and elongation levels. Simply put, high-end products refer to those with thicknesses of 6 micrometers (μm) or less that satisfy high strength or high elongation. The high-end market focuses on high quality and supply stability rather than price.

To secure the high-end copper foil market and stabilize the supply chain, the company is also pursuing 'global base expansion.' The Iksan production plant in Jeonbuk will be utilized as an R&D technology base for new product and process technology development. In Malaysia, where 100% hydropower production is possible, the 5th and 6th plants are being expanded and will enter full-scale mass production in 2024. Additionally, as a localization strategy to respond to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), Spain has been designated as the European base.

CEO Kim said, "Demand for high-end products is expected to grow mainly in Europe and North America," adding, "In the European market, entry of new battery companies is expected to accelerate after 2025, and these new battery companies plan to adopt high-end copper foil from the start." He continued, "In the U.S. market, battery companies' expansions are accelerating due to the IRA, and demand for 4680 batteries is surging, leading to rapid growth in the high-end copper foil market." Lotte Energy Materials is the only domestic battery industry company to have established a factory in Spain. Spain has the lowest electricity costs in Europe and will supply electricity to the battery copper foil factory through local solar power plants as well.

The company plans to leverage the research and development (R&D) capabilities of the Lotte Group's chemical division to create synergy in the battery materials business. It will link various product portfolios of lithium-ion and next-generation battery materials, such as Lotte Chemical's electrolyte solvents and Lotte Aluminium's aluminum foil. CEO Kim said, "We are focusing our research capabilities on next-generation battery material development, including LFP cathode active materials, silicon composite anode active materials, and solid electrolytes," and added, "Through R&D marketing collaboration with the Lotte Chemical division, we will provide customers with total material solutions for technological innovation."

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