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LS MnM to invest $900 million in North Jeolla battery materials plant

Published: 29 Nov. 2023, 17:06

SARAH CHEA
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LS MnM CEO and Vice Chairman Stuart Doh, fourth from left, and officials from the North Jeolla government take a photo after signing an agreement to invest $900 million in building a battery materials plant in Saemangeum, North Jeolla. [LS MNM]

LS MnM will invest 1.16 trillion won ($900 million) to build a battery materials plant in Saemangeum, North Jeolla.

The Korean company on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the North Jeolla government to construct the facility on a 206,728-square-meter site in reclaimed area on the country's southwest coast.

LS MnM initially intended to invest 1.84 trillion won in total — including an initial round of 1.05 trillion won, made jointly with L&F, to fund a precursor plant in Saemangeum, and a later round of around 800 billion won devoted to the battery materials facility.

LS has since decided to add an additional 370 billion won to the second phase, bringing its total investment to 2.2 trillion won. LS MnM is a fully owned subsidiary of LS.

The upcoming plant will mainly produce nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate and lithium hydroxide, the primary materials involved in the production of cathodes. Cathodes are one of the four core raw materials used in making EV batteries, and they account for 40 percent of a battery's cost.

The facility will produce enough materials for about 800,000 EVs per year.

Ground will be broken in March 2026, with the production slated to start in 2029. Around new employees will be hired.

“The latest plant will have strengthened competitiveness through applying our own developed technologies,” said LS MnM CEO and Vice Chairman Stuart Doh. “The investment will highly contribute to the regional economy, as well as expand K-battery's value chain.”

LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun announced in January that the company will invest 20 trillion won in batteries, electric vehicles and semiconductors throughout the next eight years to develop the sectors into growth engines.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]