LG Chem to establish JV with China’s Huayou Cobalt

LG Chem said on Tuesday that it will establish a joint venture (JV) with Tianjin B&M Science and Technology (B&M), a subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Huayou Cobalt), in South Korea to strengthen its competitiveness in the battery materials market.

Huayou Cobalt is a leading global supplier of raw materials, ranking No.1 in the cobalt refining market. It is also one of the top producers of nickel and manganese. Earlier in 2018, LG Chem established a battery precursor and a cathode plants in China in partnership with Huayou Cobalt.

For the JV, B&M will invest stakes in LG Chem’s cathode manufacturing plant in Gumi, which was launched last year as a part of government’s job creation project. LG Chem and B&M have a 51 percent stake and 49 percent stake in the JV, respectively. Both companies plan to invest about 500 billion won in the JV by 2025.

The JV will construct a production line at the Gumi plant exclusive for nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum (NCMA) cathode materials for next-generation electric vehicle batteries. It plans to begin mass production starting from the second half of 2024 with an annual production capacity of more than 60,000 tons, which is enough to produce batteries for 500,000 high-performance electric vehicles traveling 500 kilometers on a single charge.


Do-Young Kwak now@donga.com