LG Chem procures cathode materials from Europe’s top supplier

Korea’s leading battery maker LG Chem said Tuesday the company has secured cathode materials for electric vehicles from Europe’s top supplier Umicore with a plan to ramp up its battery production in the region next year.

The company signed a contract with the Belgium-based material supplier to procure 125,000 tons of cathode materials -- one of the four key materials for lithium-ion batteries -- starting next year. 

The amount of purchased materials is equivalent to manufacturing over 1 million electric vehicles able to go over 380 kilometers on a single charge.

Umicore is the top European material company in supplying cathodes. It amassed 4.3 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in sales last year.

LG Chem produces cathodes at its plants in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, while procuring the materials from other suppliers in line with the growing demand for electric vehicles.

But starting in 2021, the company will secure cathode materials directly from Unicore’s Poland plant for the Korean firm’s electric vehicle battery factory in the European country with a plan to expand current production capacity of 15 gigawatts per hour by four times by next year.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)