[Courtesy of LG Chem]
SEOUL -- LG Chem, the chemical unit of South Korea's LG Group, joined hands with its Japanese partner, Toray, to establish a joint venture in Hungary to produce separators for secondary batteries. The joint venture would help the two companies secure an opportunity to penetrate the fast-growing European electronic vehicle market.
The joint venture will be equally owned by LG Chem and Toray. LG Chem would acquire an additional 20 percent equity after 30 months to secure management control. Both companies will invest more than one trillion won ($855 million) in stages. The plant will be established on the site of Toray's plant in northwestern Hungary, which has excellent logistics and transportation convenience in Europe and is adjacent to automobile companies.
LG Chem said the joint venture would secure an annual production capacity of more than 800 million square meters until 2028. Line expansion is to begin in the first half of 2022 to supply separators to clients in Europe, including a battery plant run by LG Chem's subsidiary, LG Energy Solution (LGES), in Poland.
LG Chem said it can strengthen its position as a global separator company by adding Toray's differentiated fabric business capabilities to its coating technology. "The establishment of the joint venture with Toray is not just simple cooperation. It is an innovative change that generates synergy by combining LG Chem's coating technology with the world's best technology such as Toray's fabric capabilities," LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol said in a statement on October 27.
LG Chem and Toray jointly own safety reinforced separator technology, which significantly improves safety and performance by thinly coating the surface of separators with a ceramic material. The two companies would cooperate in coating processing and fabric manufacturing technologies.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
