LOTTE Chemical Pursues Cooperation for Global Expansion of Electrolyte Organic Solvents 

for EV Batteries with Sasol Chemicals 

█ Entered MOU for pre-feasibility reviews on the construction of an EV battery material electrolyte organic solvent plant

    with Sasol Chemicals of the Sasol Group 

█ Following construction of Korea’s first battery electrolyte organic solvent plant at the Daesan Plant in ‘23,

    reviewing expansion of global production capacities in the US and Europe…

    Enhancing domestic materials, parts and equipment industry competitiveness through proprietarily developed

    EMC, DEC technology exports that will be applied at the Daesan Plant 

█ Following localization of organic solvents that used to depend completely on imports, accelerating entry into

    battery materials business by constructing local core material plants to prepare for the US EV market that is rising rapidly 

█ Battery Materials Business Director Lee Young-joon, “The increase in demand for batteries is resulting in a huge growth

    in demand for the four core materials that make up batteries. LOTTE Chemical will speedily expand the battery material business

    and lead the global materials market in terms of both quantity and quality”

LOTTE Chemical announced on the June 14 that it entered a pre-feasibility study MOU for the construction of an electrolyte organic solvent plant to be used as EV battery materials with Sasol Chemicals, the business of the global petrochemical company Sasol.

LOTTE Chemical, which is currently building the nation's first electrolyte organic solvent plant in Daesan is looking for ways to expand its global supply capacities to the US and Europe, which has been growing rapidly over a short period of time through a partnership with Sasol Chemical. 

The two companies will review the project sites at Lake Charles, Louisiana and Marl, Germany. The raw materials of this plant will be supplied by Sasol, and will apply the EMC and DEC technologies developed by LOTTE Chemical. 

LOTTE Chemical Battery Materials Business Director Lee Young-joon stated, “The increase in demand for batteries is resulting in a huge growth in demand for the four core materials that make up batteries,” and added, “LOTTE Chemical will speedily expand the battery material business and lead the global materials market in terms of both quantity and quality.” 

Sasol Chemical Development and Optimization Vice President Shelley Grahmann commented, “Through the Lake Charles site and supplying raw materials, we will develop the facility that will provide core materials to the lithium-ion battery market,” while adding, “We will strive to come up with solutions that meet the two companies’ sustainability strategies such as considering options for minimizing carbon emissions including the use of renewable energy.

In May, LOTTE Chemical announced that it would invest a total of 4 trillion KRW and achieve annual revenue of 5 trillion KRW by 2030 with the goal of expanding its battery materials solutions and to become a leading global battery materials company.

In May of last year, it invested approximately 210 billion KRW and is currently constructing high-purity ethylene carbonate (EC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) production facilities for the EV battery electrolyte organic solvent within the Daesan Plant scheduled for completion by the second half of 2023, and in the case of the separation membrane business, which is one of the four major battery materials, it plans to increase the current annual production of 7,000 tons to annual production of 100,000 tons by 2030 to reach sales of 230 billion KRW. 

In January of this year, it invested 6.5 billion KRW to obtain 15% of shares as the second largest shareholder of ‘Standard Energy’ that developed the world’s first vanadium-ion batteries, which is receiving attention as next-generation batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) In April, establish a joint venture with ‘SOELECT’ with the US start-up that developed lithium metal anode and solid electrolytes, which are drawing attention as core materials for next-generation batteries, and entered an MOU to construct a GWh-level anode material production facility worth about 200 million USD in the United States by 2025.

In the future, LOTTE Chemical plans to grow into a core enterprise for the global supply chain of EV-battery-materials through systematic and proactive investments and incubating in preparation for the future increase in demand for EVs and expansion of renewable energy.