South Korean firms to make battery materials in North America

Several South Korean firms plan to produce battery materials in North America. Lotte Chemical announced that it will build a $250 million anode foil factory in Kentucky. The new facility, expected to be completed in 2025, will be capable of producing 36,000 metric tons (t) of anode foil. That follows an announcement in June that Lotte is also assessing the suitability of sites owned by Sasol in the US and Germany for a facility that will produce electrolye solvents. LG Chem says it’s interested in setting up a cathode material plant in North America by 2025. LG just agreed to supply the US carmaker General Motors with nearly 1 million t of cathode material over the next 8 years. Posco also signed a similar agreement to supply GM with cathode materials, which follows the companies’ joint venture setting up a cathode material plant in Canada. BASF and Umicore have also recently announced plans for cathode materials and battery recycling plants in North America.