LOTTE Chemical Constructs Battery Material Business Value Chain

by Entering Core Materials Market for Secondary Batteries

█ LOTTE Chemical’s US battery materials holding company LOTTE Battery Materials USA Corporation entered concluded stock purchase

    agreement as the acquirer… Strategic decision to expand overseas market for eco-friendly EV battery materials in the US and Europe   

█ LOTTE Group Chemical Unit constructs core material value for secondary batteries such as cathode foil, copper foil, electrolyte organic solvents,

    and separation membranes... Maximize synergy of battery materials business through joint ventures and investment in shares

█ LOTTE Chemical participates in paid-in capital increase of LOTTE Battery Materials USA Corporation to support expansion of

    the global battery materials business market

█ LOTTE Group Chemical Unit CEO Kim Gyo-hyun, “The LOTTE Group Chemical Unit will do its best to enhance the business capacities

    in battery materials through timely selection and concentration, and will raise the values of the company, customers, and shareholders

    through competition among subsidiaries and organic collaboration”

LOTTE Chemical completed the secondary battery core material value chain by acquiring the copper foil manufacturing company Iljin Materials. 

LOTTE Chemical’s US battery materials holdings company LOTTE Battery Materials USA Corporation announced that it entered a stock purchase agreement of 2.7 trillion KRW (53.3% of shares) to acquire Korea’s number 1 copper foil producer (based on production capacity of 2022), Iljin Materials. 

LOTTE Battery Materials USA Corporation is a battery materials holdings company in the US that LOTTE Chemical owns 100% of shares for, and it became the acquirer for synergy effects in expanding the overseas market for eco-friendly EV battery materials in the US, Europe, etc. 

Iljin Materials is a major copper foil manufacturing company of Korea and it operates production bases in Korea and Malaysia with a production capacity of approximately 60,000 tons. It also has plans to build plants with 230,000-ton capacity in its bases in Malaysia, Spain and the US by 2027.  

The Malaysia plant has stable price competitiveness thanks to cheap electricity costs as it uses a massive hydrogen-power generator, and low wages, and the Spain plant is scheduled to be constructed as a production facility meeting the ESG management of clients by using eco-friendly energy sources with solar power and wind power.

LOTTE Group Chemical Unit CEO Kim Gyo-hyun said, “Iljin Materials has excellent technologies being the first in the world to successfully develop the ultra-strong (90kgf/㎟) copper foil (Elecfoil),” while adding “The LOTTE Group Chemical Unit will do its best to enhance the business capacities in battery materials through timely selection and concentration, and will raise the values of the company, customers, and shareholders through competition among subsidiaries and organic collaboration.”

LOTTE Battery Materials USA Corporation signed a stock purchase agreement on this day and plans to complete acquisition after filing corporate merger reports in Korea and abroad.

Iljin Materials recorded sales of 388.5 billion KRW and operating profits of 46.8 billion KRW in the first half of this year. It is expected to have stable cash flow owing to long-term supply contracts with major battery companies both in Korea and abroad, and based on its independent funds, they are expected to continue making additional investments for constructing overseas production bases.

Furthermore, as it is constructing a diverse product lineup ranging from universal copper foil products to high-value products with high strength and high elongation that can withstand volume expansion of silicon anode materials, it is drawing attention a company possessing core technologies and high expectations for future growth potential. 

Meanwhile, LOTTE Chemical’s battery materials business initially set its goal to invest a total of 4 trillion KRW and achieve annual sales of 5 trillion KRW by 2030, but it is expected that this acquisition will make it possible to achieve this goal more quickly and expand the scope of revenue much further. It announced the construction of its first cathode foil production base with a capacity of about 36,000 tons in the US in July, and with this acquisition of the copper foil manufacturer, it plans to become a global battery leader by preoccupying major markets such as Europe and the US.

LOTTE Group is actively investing in various battery materials businesses through companies within the chemical unit. Together with LOTTE Chemical, LOTTE Fine Chemical, and LOTTE Aluminum, it is directly and indirectly investing and producing the four major battery materials (cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, separators). LOTTE Chemical is building a separator (PE) production and battery electrolyte organic solvent (EC, DMC) plant, and LOTTE Aluminum and LOTTE Fine Chemical are currently involved in cathode foil and copper foil businesses (share investment in Solus Advanced Materials). LOTTE Group plans to come up with a range of synergy plans by procuring technologies and constructing cooperative relationships between subsidiaries, while playing a leading role in the future battery materials business.