Poland to bring back LG Chem technicians on special flight

South Korean battery maker LG Chem said Thursday that the Polish government would open its airways to allow LG Chem employees to resume the expansion of the company’s electric vehicle battery plant in Poland. It is an exception to the country’s strict measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

According to LG Chem, the company will dispatch some 200 employees on a special LOT Polish Airlines flight Friday to the construction site in Wroclaw, Poland, to restart the work to expand the plant.

LG Chem is currently planning to double its EV battery production capacity this year in Europe to 60 GWh, which is enough to power 1 million EVs.

To facilitate the immediate deployment of essential personnel, the Polish government is expected to waive its two-week quarantine requirement for LG Chem employees who have tested negative for COVID-19 in Korea.

“We could finally pack our bags after getting tests,” an LG official said.

The Polish government has closed the country’s borders until May 3, but made this exception because disruptions in EV battery production could hurt European automakers including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Renault.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)