Gwangmu to Begin Construction of New 30,000-Pyeong Additive Factory Within the Year... Focus on Capacity Expansion

Secondary battery material company Kwangmu is constructing a new additive plant (Plant 2). Following the Jecheon plant, an additional base will be established in the nearby 3rd Industrial Complex (hereinafter, Jecheon Industrial Complex) to increase production capacity (CAPA) and transform into an additive company.

A panoramic view of the factory site in the 3rd Industrial Complex, Wangam-dong, Jecheon-si, Chungbuk, planned to be constructed by Gwangmu. / Photo by Gwangmu

Kwangmu announced on the 1st that it will build an additive manufacturing plant on a site of 90,905㎡ (27,547 pyeong) in Wangam-dong, Jecheon Industrial Complex, Jecheon-si, Chungbuk. This new plant construction was undertaken in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other factors.

The new plant will feature not only automated additive production facilities but also a revolutionary automated logistics process. The company expects to expand production volume and reduce fixed costs.

Previously, Kwangmu has been proceeding with land acquisition, design, and construction contract signing. The newly constructed plant is scheduled to begin construction before September this year, aiming for trial operation in the third quarter of 2024.

The additives produced will be supplied to domestic and overseas battery material companies. For Kwangmu, this means the creation of a new pipeline (source of revenue).

Additives are raw materials for electrolytes and account for 30-40% of the electrolyte manufacturing cost. They are high value-added materials with a margin rate of about 20%.

The additive market is characterized by high entry barriers. Since additives for electrolytes used in cathode and anode materials are co-developed from the electrolyte development stage, companies with proven capabilities are preferred. Kwangmu secured the first domestic additive production base in Jecheon at the end of 2021. Subsequently, focusing on material development, it secured joint technology with Enchem.

Kwangmu’s expansion of the Jecheon plant (Plant 1), which began in October last year, is also nearing completion. Three buildings are about to be completed: a 1st to 3rd floor management building (689.25㎡), a 1st floor logistics building (220.00㎡), and a 1st floor hazardous materials storage and processing building (182.50㎡).

Since announcing the innovation plan for realizing the 'New Kwangmu' last February, the company has repeatedly emphasized 'production capacity' when discussing growth engines. It continues to express its ambition to become the additive production hub in the Asia region.

A Kwangmu official stated, “Once this new plant is completed, we will have independent production capacity to respond to large-scale domestic and international demand,” adding, “The company is reviewing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) plans with related companies within the year to advance material technology.”

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