Lotte Chemical acquires stake in vanadium-ion battery firm Standard Energy

Lotte Chemical invested 65 billion won ($54 million) into Daejeon, Korea-based vanadium-ion battery firm Standard Energy, acquiring 15 percent of the company’s shares. The investment made Lotte Chemical the second biggest shareholder of the battery company.

Standard Energy was founded by researchers from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Michigan Institute of Technology in 2013 and has been researching the development of vanadium-ion batteries.

Vanadium-ion batteries have a water-based electrolyte, making them less of a fire risk compared to lithium-ion batteries. Because vanadium-ion batteries are usually made in bulk, they are considered suitable for energy storage systems (ESS) rather than electric vehicles (EVs).

Lotte Chemical has been researching various chemicals for ESS, including vanadium, since 2011.

Through the latest investment, Lotte Chemical plans on initiating an ESS business utilizing its network in and outside of Korea.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]