LG Chem announced a joint venture on May 31 with Tianjin B&M Science and Technology (B&M), a subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Huayou Cobalt) that specializes in cathode materials, a key component in battery manufacturing.
LG Chem signed the joint venture agreement with B&M at LG Twin Towers in Seoul, attended by key stakeholders including LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol, Huayou Cobalt Chairman Chen Xuehua, Vice President Chen Yaozhong and other officials.
“The establishment of the joint venture further cements our vertical integration system with key raw materials to produce affordable, high quality cathode materials,” said LG Chem Vice Chairman Shin.
“We will continue to strengthen our efforts to supply best-in-class battery materials to our customers.”
“This partnership is another critical step in the expansion of B&M’s cathode business in the global market, a key component of our metal supply strategy,” said Chairman Chen of Huayou Cobalt.
“The combination of LG Chem’s competitive technological edge and dominant market share with the strong value chain capability of Huayou Cobalt will contribute greatly to advancing the global lithium battery sector.”
B&M’s capital investment in LG Chem’s Gumi cathode production plant will result in a 49 percent stake in the JV with the remaining 51 percent to be held by LG Chem. Both partners are committing 500 billion won ($400 million) toward the initiative by 2025.
The joint venture will be led by Kim Woo-sung, current president of LG Chem’s Gumi site.
With an intense focus on manufacturing NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) cathode materials for next-generation electric vehicle (EV) batteries, LG Chem plans to begin initial mass production at Gumi in the second half of 2024.
The annual production capacity of 60,000 tons will be enough to power approximately 500,000 high-performance EVs, each with a driving range of 500 kilometers.
LG Chem Vice Chmn-CEO Shin Searches for HR to Lead ESG Innovation Technologies in Germany
LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol is on its way to procure talented human resources personnel that will lead ESG innovation technologies in Europe.
LG Chem announced on May 27 Chief Executive Officer Shin, CTO and Executive Vice President Yu Ji-yung, CHO (Chief Human Resources Officer) and Executive Vice President Kim Sung-min, and others held the ‘BC (Business & Campus) Tour’ at the Steigenberger Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany.
The ‘BC Tour’ is one of the representative global human resource procurement activities where key executives communicate directly with outstanding local talents and hold interviews, and it is held in connection with overseas business trips of the CEO.
At this event, approximately 30 master’s and PhD degree holders possessing technologies in new business sectors related to ESG at around 20 major universities such as the University of Oxford of the UK, ETH Zurich of Switzerland, and Humboldt University of Berlin of Germany have been invited.
CEO Shin, who oversaw this hiring event after participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, shared the business visions of LG Chem such as its ESG leadership and new growth engines, as well as the insight of leaders around the world on the climate crisis to the talented individuals that attended the event.
CEO Shin commented, “Leaders around the world currently share the consensus that we must concentrate all of our capacities for resolving issues directly connected to the environment such as carbon neutrality and virtuous resource circulation.”
He added, “LG Chem also selected eco-friendly sustainability business, battery materials, and global innovative new drugs as its three main new growth engines and is striving to solve issues for humanity to ensure a better future for people.”
He went on saying, “For this, we need never-before-seen innovative technologies and these technologies begin with talented human resources like you.”
He also stated with emphasis, “I ask those of you focusing on research to solve pan-humanistic issues to join LG Chem’s challenge.”
Meanwhile, LG Chem declared 2050 Net Zero and that it would convert 100 percent to renewable energy, while innovating its business portfolio based on ESG.
LG Chem plans to invest 10 trillion won by 2025 to expand the share of its three major new businesses focusing on eco-friendliness to account for more than half of its entire business, intending to raise overall revenue to 60 trillion won by 2030, which is more than double its current revenue.
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