LG Chem Secures $3,76 Trillion Won Cathode Material Deal from US Firms
LG Chem has signed a cathode material supply contract worth 3.762 trillion won with U.S. electric vehicle-related companies, the company announced on Nov. 13.
The contract period extends until the end of July 2029, with the contracting party not disclosed. LG Chem has secured total cathode material production capacity of 150,000 tons, including 60,000 tons at its domestic Cheongju plant and 40,000 tons at its Gumi plant, as well as 50,000 tons at its Wuxi plant in China.
LG Chem, leveraging particularly its domestic production base, secured a 2.9 trillion won cathode material supply contract from Toyota Motor Manufacturing of North America (TEMA) in 2023, and signed a massive 25 trillion won supply contract with General Motors (GM) in February last year. The cathode materials supplied to GM are sufficient to manufacture 5 million electric vehicles. In September last year, the company also won a cathode material contract from Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, a Japanese joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic.
LG Chem’s consecutive order jackpots stem from building an independent supply chain that established a foundation to respond to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Previously, LG Chem brought in Japan’s Toyota Tsusho as a major shareholder in the Gumi cathode material plant, a joint venture created with Chinese cobalt specialist Huayou Cobalt at a 51-to-49 stake ratio. Through this, the ownership structure changed to LG Chem 51%, Toyota Tsusho 25%, and Huayou Cobalt 24%.
LG Chem is also accelerating the development of next-generation batteries. Recently, the company signed a joint development agreement with Sinopec, China’s largest integrated energy company, for the development of core materials for sodium-ion batteries. Through the agreement, both companies agreed to jointly develop cathode and anode materials, which are core materials for next-generation sodium-ion batteries, and build a stable supply chain.
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LG Chem Secures $3,76 Trillion Won Cathode Material Deal from US Firms, source
