South Korea’s LG Chem is topping up its investment in battery materials to 6 trillion won ($5.2 billion) by 2025, as part of its strategy to boost new business growth engines, Kallanish reports.

Company’s ceo Hak Cheol Shin told a press conference LG Chem is switching its business portfolio of petrochemicals, advanced materials, and life sciences to sustainable growth, with a combined investment of 10 trillion won.

“This will be the most revolutionary change since the establishment of the company that will upgrade the value and sustainability of LG Chem, and tangible achievements will become available from the second half of this year,” he said. “Over 30 projects including M&As, joint ventures, strategic investments etc to make a paradigm shift to an ESG-based business portfolio are being reviewed.”

The owner of major battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution now wants to become the world’s No.1 “comprehensive” battery material company. To become a leader in anode production, LG Chem plans to start construction of the Gumi anode plant with capacity of 60,000 tonnes/year in December. The project will increase anode production capacity by roughly seven-fold to 260,000 t/y by 2026, compared to 40,000 t/y in 2020.   

Preparations for a mining joint venture is also underway to ensure a steady supply of metals used in anode materials. The growth strategy also includes several cooperation with partners on mining, smelting and refining of metals.

Other areas to receive a financial boost include separation membranes, cathode binders, radiant adhesives and carbon nanotube (CNT). The latter is a new material that has the same electric and heat conductivity of copper and diamonds. Its intensity is 100 times that of steel, according to LG Chem.

Through its petrochemical unit, the company aims to at least triple its CNT production capacity by 2025 from 1,700 t/y in 2021. The idea is to target the anode conductive additive market, which helps the flow of electricity and electrons in lithium-ion batteries.

Earlier this week, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution announced a combined investment of 15.1 trillion won to expand battery manufacturing capacity in South Korea by 2030. The investment focuses on “solidifying LG as the world’s No.1 in next-generation (EV) batteries.” (See related story)