[Sponsored Report] LG Group goes ‘green’ with its growth engines

LG Chem employees work in an electric car battery factory. Provided by the company

LG’s plan for growth is focused on eco-friendly auto parts and the energy solution business.

LG has been pushing affiliates to develop eco-friendly automotive technologies since the 2000s. As a result, LG now has a wide variety of innovative products in the field, including LG Chem’s electric car batteries, LG Electronics’ in-vehicle infotainment components, LG Innotek’s vehicle sensor system and LG Hausys’ car material components, among others.

LG Electronics is currently supplying major automotive companies like General Motors and Mercedes Benz with advanced components.

At the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show, LG Electronics collaborated with Italdesign of Volkswagen group by providing parts for the “Gia” concept car.

LG Electronics will also be working with Google by supplying battery packs for its self-driving car project.

LG Display is a top supplier of displays and dashboards for car companies, currently third in the market with a market share of 16 percent.

Han Sang-beom, CEO of LG Display, announced last January that the company had secured 80 percent of its total orders from major automobile companies.

LG Innotek is quickly expanding its product lines - already numbering more than 20 - and extending its reach around the globe.

In June 2014, the company built its first overseas automotive electronics production site in Mexico. Earlier this year, LG Display expanded into the United States’ automotive LED market.

LG Chem is leading the market in electric car battery packs and boosting their production capacities. Last year, the company started operating a factory in Michigan, and another is under construction in Nanjing, China.

LG Chem is capable of providing battery packs for more than 200,000 electric cars a year and serves more than 20 automotive companies in South Korea, America, Europe and China.

LG Hausys produces auto fabric and light weight components and is ranked third in the global auto fabric industry. It has a factory in Tianjin, China, and another under construction in the United States, in Georgia.

LG also puts an emphasis on being eco-friendly and is the only group whose affiliates provide products and services that form a direct chain from green energy generation to storage to efficient use.

LG Chem was recently ranked first in Navigant Research’s report of lithium-ion grid storage manufacturers. Last April, LG Chem signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the commercial energy storage system business with Gexpro, Ideal Power and Geli. This joint project will accelerate LG Chem’s advancement in the U.S. market.

Another MOU was signed last November with Germany’s Siemens to supply batteries for future products.

LG Electronics’ main product in the energy solution business is high efficiency solar modules.

LG Electronics is going abroad starting in Japan, a potentially big market in the solar business. Last February, LG Electronics participated in Japan’s biggest solar product fair, PV Expo 2015.

LG CNS is taking part in the smart microgrid solution sector. Last September, LG CNS won a 48 billion won ($41 million) contract from Tauron, Poland’s biggest power company.