Researchers with LG Chem’s Future Technology Research Center test new plastic materials.

LG Chem has inaugurated an in-house task force, dubbed “Phoenix Team,” to focus on recycling plastic, which will emerge as one the company’s growth engines.

The Phoenix Team was inaugurated at the instruction of LG Chem Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol on the exploration of eco-friendly plastic.

The team is named after a phoenix being reborn in flames, like the way plastic is recycled. The team is headed by Executive Vice President Steven Kim, who was recently hired from the outside and appointed to lead the Engineering Business Department of the Advanced Materials Business.

Executive Vice President Kim said in an interview with a vernacular economic daily that recycling plastic has emerged as a mega trend, and LG Chem will become a global recycling plastic maker, replicating the success it experienced in the battery business.

The Phoenix Team is a kind of in-house startup. Kim said he alone has picked its members — 10 people responsible for the development of businesses and 15 people related to technology development.

The team was inaugurated in accordance with an order from Vice Chairman Shin, who has urged the importance of ESG management.

LG Chem’s in-house enthusiasm toward ESG has prompted a member of the team to promote an executive-level researcher.

EV batteries, being produced at LG Chem’s plant in Holland, Michigan, the United States. (Photos: LG Chem)

LG Energy Solution to Build Battery Production Lines in U.S.

LG Energy Solution, a battery maker spun off LG Chem, is accelerating efforts to make inroads into the U.S. market.

LG Energy Solution plans to expand production lines to increase its battery supplies to Tesla, and the company is considering establishing a second joint venture with GM, business sources said.

LG Energy Solution aims to supply a new tabless 4680 battery to Tesla by 2023. The company is considering selecting a site in the United States or Europe.

Reuters cited business sources that LS Solution plans to build a new 4680 battery plant in the United States and set up a 4680 battery line for Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin.

LG Energy Solution’s move came shortly after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made a final ruling in favor of LG Energy Solution on March 5, which has accused SK Innovation of stealing its business secrets.

LG Energy Solution said in a recent conference call the company was considering expanding battery production lines to supply cylinder batteries for EVs and energy storage system batteries.

The upcoming “4680 cylinder battery,” measuring 46mm in diameter and 80 mm in height, is a brand-new battery that will be supplied to Tesla EV models. Battery makers are scrambling for the commercializing of the new battery, and it will take a few years to make it, and it is uncertain who will emerge as the supplier of the new battery to Tesla.

Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution is considering establishing a second battery joint-venture with GM in Tennessee, the Wall Street Journal reported.

GM plans to announce it officially in the first half, according to the report.