SEOUL – LG Chem plans to triple the production capacity of cylindrical batteries used through Tesla and others and plans to expand to Europe and North America to meet growing demand, he said Wednesday.
The South Korean company expects battery sales and earnings to decline in the fourth quarter after posting record quarterly gains thanks to developing demand for electric vehicle batteries.
“Sales are expected to continue to grow thanks to increased shipments of automotive batteries and cylinder batteries for electric vehicles,” said LG Chem, which also counts General Motors, Volkswagen Group and Hyundai as customers.
LG provided figures or calendars for its plans to triple the capacity of the cylindrical battery. The supplier, along with CATL, makes battery materials for Tesla models manufactured in China, while Panasonic manufactures Tesla car batteries manufactured in the United States.
LG Chem also stated that cylindrical batteries are approaching “new form factors” that will increase strength density and strength across five, without giving details.
These are the goals announced through Tesla last month for its new batteries to be manufactured internally, called 4680 cells, to allow a 16% increase in the diversity of Tesla vehicles.
LG Chem CEO Hak Cheol Shin shared a plan to build another in Europe in an interview last week. The company has production facilities in Poland, the United States, South Korea and China.
Kona EV research
LG Chem said Wednesday that it had formed a working group with Hyundai for the root cause of battery fires that affected 14 Kona electric vehicles in South Korea and abroad, as Hyundai plans to recall.
The petrochemical manufacturer’s battery manufacturer reported a 159% increase in overall operating profit to a record 902 billion won ($796 million) in the third quarter last year, estimated.
Its battery division, which also includes small batteries used on Apple’s iPhones, saw its operating profit more than double that of 169 billion won last year ($149 million), thanks to higher sales of cylindrical batteries, new electric vehicle launches through European automakers. and superior sales of new cellular devices.
The operational source of revenue from the core petrochemical business also more than doubled to 722 billion won ($637 million), as the coronavirus crisis required more appliances and hygiene products such as surgical gloves.
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