LG Chem Vice Chairman Park Jin-soo.

Two three-story buildings covered in blue-stained glasses fill a 123,000 square-meter lot the equivalent of 17 soccer fields. The plant churns out battery cells that can be installed for 10,000 units of hybrid electric vehicles on a daily basis. The EV battery assembly production line of LG Chem’s first Ochang plant in Cheongju works to meet EV battery demand from such global automakers as General Motors, Renault, Hyundai Motor-Kia Motors, Audi and Volvo. 

The plant is noted for realizing prospective changes. In the early 2000s, trend-setting Japanese companies focused on the nickel metal hydride batteries, but LG Chem, on the other hand, turned to the development of lithium-ion batteries. The Korean company has lavished investments like the establishment of research-incorporated companies in Korea and the United States. LG Chem has accumulated technology. LG Chem’s bid has paid off: The company has secured such its own technologies as stack and folding and safety reinforced separator. 

LG Chem’s preceding technology power has led to a rise in sales. The company’s developing of a pouch-shaped battery suiting the design of cars has gained global recognition in terms of performance and safety. LG Chem is now leading the global EV battery market in which the Korean company is competing with its rivals to land EV battery orders for millions of vehicles from 20-odd automakers. LG Chem is forecast to chalk up 1.2 trillion won in sales this year, an about 20-fold jump from 60 billion won when it was founded not long ago. 

“LG Chem is the sole chemical material-based company among global EV battery makers as the company has a competitive edge on top of safety and performance by specializing in raw materials for the production of EV batteries,” said Lee Chung-jae, head of LG Chem EV Battery Production Center.

The number of cars using LC Chem’s EV batteries has hit 500,000, but no accidents have happened, giving the company a top-ranking position in terms of safety. 

LG Chem lab officials check battery cells at their laboratory.

LG Group Chairman’s Bid to Nurture Secondary Battery Business Comes a Long Way

Looking back at 1991, LG Group Chairman Koo, then the group vice chairman, made a business trip to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in which he observed the production of a secondary battery. Recognizing that secondary batteries can be the group’s future growth engine, he brought a sample back to Korea and told his R&D staff to research secondary batteries. 

Fast forward two decades and LG Chem, a chemical unit of LG Group, has made a splash in the global rechargeable market. The company has dedicated a plant capable of producing 50,000 units in Nanjing, China, last October, which is emerging as the world’s largest secondary battery market. LG Chem set up a trilateral production format following the dedication of a plant in Ochang, Chungcheongbuk-do, in 2011 and another in Holland, Michigan, in 2012. 

Capping the trilateral format by dedicating the latest plant in China, LG Chem has laid a solid groundwork to lead the global EV battery market. The Chinese plant has set up an integrated production system that can produce battery cells to modules and packs, which is tailored to meet customers’ demands in the center of China, emerging as the world’s largest EV market. 

“LG Chem has managed to survive itself thanks to its prospective and preceding changes,” said LG Chem Vice Chairman Park Jin-soo.

LG Chem’s plant in Ochang, Chungcheongbuk-do. (Photos:LG Chem)