LG Chem to expand carbon nanotube factory in Korea

LG Chem's nanotube production site in Yeosu, about 300 kilometers southwest of Seoul [LG CHEM]

Korean chemical company LG Chem said Tuesday it is expanding its carbon nanotube factory here as it seeks to bolster its edge in the lucrative electric vehicle battery materials sector.

The new carbon nanotube factory will be constructed in its Daesan complex, South Chungcheong Province, about 75 kilometers south of Seoul, by the second half of 2024, with an annual capacity of 3,200 tons, the company said in a release.

Carbon nanotube is a next-generation material that has electric and heat conductivity equivalent to copper and diamonds, with intensity 100 times that of steel.

Such properties make it particularly useful as an additive that helps the flow of electricity in lithium-ion batteries for EVs.

It is also applied to semiconductors, automobile parts and aircraft fuselages.

Once the new plant is completed, LG Chem's total carbon nanotube production capability will increase to 6,100 tons annually. The existing plants in Yeosu produce 1,700 tons a year and its third factory under construction in the same complex will produce 1,200 tons.

LG Chem's carbon nanotube output is mostly supplied to LG Energy Solution, the world's second-largest battery maker that was split off from LG Chem in late 2020.

Yonhap