LG Chem Ltd is to spend 10 trillion won (US$8.7 billion) through 2025 to accelerate a “sustainable growth” in its battery materials operations and other business lines, joining other South Korean industrial giants in a shift toward greener practices.
The petrochemical producer is to spend 6 trillion won expanding production lines of its battery materials, including cathode and separators, while 3 trillion won is to go into producing more environmentally friendly petrochemical products, according to a statement yesterday.
The rest of the investment is to be used in LG Chem’s life science operations.
“This is by far the most innovative change the company is making since its establishment, which will further lift value and sustainability,” LG Chem chief executive Shin Hak-cheol said in a statement before a media briefing in Seoul. “We’ll be able to see tangible results from the second half of this year.”
The private sector in South Korea has been rushing to announce massive investment plans to reduce its carbon footprint and foster sustainable growth.
SK Innovation Co earlier this month said it is to invest 30 trillion won through 2025 to strengthen its green business portfolio, mainly in batteries and recycling plastic waste, while Lotte Chemical Corp on Tuesday said it is to spend 4.4 trillion won through 2030 to increase hydrogen output.
“We will transform our business portfolio based on ESG [environmental, social and governance]-related operations and we will prove that we can make a sustainable growth,” Shin said in his briefing. “It’s the time for a major overhaul.”
LG Chem’s massive investment in its battery materials operations comes amid surging demand for electric vehicles. The company expects the materials market to grow to about 100 trillion won in 2026, from 39 trillion won this year.
To benefit from increased demand, LG Chem is to start building a cathode materials production facility in Gumi, South Korea, from December with an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes, it said.
LG Chem expects its cathode output capacity to rise to 260,000 tonnes in 2026, from 40,000 tonnes last year.
The company is also seeking mergers and acquisitions or joint ventures on separators, with a plan to set up an overseas manufacturing plant, while further expanding carbon nanotube production.
For the stable supply of metals used in cathode output, LG Chem is working on forming a joint venture with a mining company to improve its competitiveness in sourcing, Shin said.
By broadening the lineup of products for battery materials, LG Chem hopes to maximize its partnership with battery unit LG Energy Solution, which has applied to the Korea Exchange for a preliminary review for an initial public offering.
The listing is possible this year, Shin said, adding that LG Chem would retain a 70 to 80 percent stake in the unit.
For LG Chem’s main petrochemical business, it plans to shift to more environmentally friendly products such as bioplastics and bio-super absorbent polymer.
It is to look for new growth in plastic recycling operations, as well as materials used in solar panels, the statement said.
In life sciences, LG Chem plans to spend more than 1 trillion won to enter markets in the US and Europe by becoming a global pharmaceutical company that has more than two new drugs.
“We’re no longer a traditional petrochemical company,” Shin said. “Based on the technology and solutions we’ve accumulated over 70 years, we’re now a materials science company with a growth centered around sustainability.”
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
RSS