LG Chem enters production of single crystal battery cathode to increase EV battery life by 30%

29 June 2023, 04:44:51

LG Chem announced in South Korea that it has started mass production of high-nickel single-particle (single crystal) cathode materials for next-generation EV batteries at its Cheongju cathode material plant in June. The first batch of products will be sent to global customers in July. LG Chem plans to expand its single-particle cathode material production line to its Gumi plant by 2027 and expand its total production scale to more than 50,000 tons per year.

The single-particle cathode material is a material made of several metals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese into a single particle shape (one-body), and is considered to be the key to solving the key challenges of next-generation batteries such as longevity and capacity.

The existing cathode material was a multi-grain (polycrystalline) structure made of metal particles in small bundles. As the charging and discharging are repeated, the gap between the materials widens, and gas is generated in the gap, hence the battery life gradually degrades.

The use of durable single-particle cathode materials produces less gas, which increases stability and increases the battery life by more than 30%. As the problem of poor battery life has been regarded as a barrier to the spread of electric vehicles, it is expected that single-particle cathode materials will contribute to surpassing the limits of existing batteries.

Single-particle cathode materials can be denser than conventional cathode materials, increasing the capacity of the battery by more than 10%. For example, if an electric vehicle equipped with a battery made of conventional cathode material travels 500 km on a single charge, a single-particle cathode battery of the same size and weight can travel more than 550 km.

It is the first time that LG Chem is mass-producing high-nickel single-particle cathode materials in Korea. LG Chem has identified that the problem of gas generation in batteries is a pain point for customers, and has been conducting full-scale R&D since 2021 to improve it.

In the initial mass production, LG Chem plans to produce a mixture of single-particle cathode materials and existing secondary particle cathode materials in a ratio of 2:8, and then gradually change to cathode materials containing only 100% single particles. The application will also be expanded to pouch types and 4680 cylindrical batteries (46mm in diameter and 80mm in length).

Shin Hak-chul, Vice Chairman of LG Chem, said, "High-nickel single-particle cathode materials are a game-changing innovation in the future battery material market and the key to solving customers' pain points."

News related to LG Chem or LGES

LG Energy Solution and Liontown Resources Limited (Liontown) entered into a strategic partnership aimed at fortifying their long-term collaboration in the global lithium sector. The companies signed a convertible note subscription agreement, an extended offtake agreement for the supply of high-quality lithium spodumene from Liontown’s Kathleen Valley project, and a downstream collaboration agreement to explore the...

3 July 2024

LG Energy Solution (LGES) announced that it will supply LFP pouch-type EV batteries to Ampere, the EV pure player born from Renault Group, its long-time customer. The two companies signed the supply agreement at Renault's Paris headquarters in France. Under the five-year contract, LG Energy Solution will provide LFP batteries to Ampere from late 2025 through 2030, with a total capacity of approximately 39 GWh...

3 July 2024

LG Energy Solution and Honda have erected the final structural steel beam at the joint venture’s new EV battery production facility being constructed near Jeffersonville, Ohio. This major construction milestone comes almost one year to the day after the groundbreaking that took place for the over 2 million square feet facility that is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Projected to reach an overall...

5 March 2024

LG Energy Solution announced its equity investment in Sion Power, a startup company based in Arizona, U.S. which holds core patents in the field of lithium metal battery technology. A lithium metal battery uses a lithium metal anode instead of a graphite or silicon anode to achieve higher energy efficiency compared to existing lithium-ion batteries. However, progress in its development has been slow due to new...

25 January 2024

LG Chem has commenced the construction of a cathode plant in the U.S., intending to establish a production hub for the global battery material market. The facility, located in Montgomery County, Clarksville, Tennessee, will locally produce cathode materials optimized for North American electric vehicles (EVs) and collaborate with key partners from development to the supply chain. LG Chem will invest around KRW 2...

28 December 2023

Korean news agency Yonhap reports that LG Energy Solution, Ford, and Koç Holding scrap plans to build an EV battery JV in Türkiye. Earlier this year, on February 22, the three companies signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a new joint venture to create one of Europe's largest commercial electric vehicle battery cell facilities near Ankara, Türkiye. The agreement was subject to final...

13 November 2023

LG Energy Solution and Toyota Motor North America today announced that they have signed a supply agreement for lithium-ion battery modules to be used in Toyota battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that will be assembled in the United States. Under the contract, LG Energy Solution will supply automotive battery modules at an annual capacity of 20GWh starting from 2025. The battery modules, consisting of high-nickel NCMA...

4 October 2023

Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) will invest an additional $2 billion in their battery cell manufacturing joint venture (JV) at the Metaplant in Bryan County, raising the JV’s total investment value to more than $4.3 billion. This expansion will create another 400 new jobs. In May 2023, Hyundai Motor Group and LGES signed a memorandum of understanding...

1 September 2023

U.S. is on the cusp of an electric vehicle (EV) revolution, as EVs are expected to make up half of new car sales worldwide by 2035 (Goldman Sachs). At the forefront of this growing market, LG Energy Solution Michigan’s second battery plant is now on track, with the aim of expanding its capacity five-fold. LGES Michigan is investing USD 1.7 billion into the expansion project, adding an additional 1.7 million square...

25 July 2023

LG Energy Solution and Honda marked another major milestone of construction for its new joint venture EV battery facility this week when the first steel beam was installed at the plant site in Jeffersonville, Ohio. The companies have committed to invest $3.5 billion, with plans to create 2,200 jobs, in the over 2 million square feet facility, with an overall investment projected to reach $4.4 billion. The new joint...

21 June 2023

LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Hyundai Motor Group announced an EV battery cell manufacturing joint venture in the U.S. today. LGES and Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding to produce EV batteries in the U.S. and further accelerate the Group’s electrification efforts in North America. The signing ceremony took place in LGES’s headquarters in Seoul on May 26 with the attendance of Youngsoo Kwon...

25 May 2023

SNE Research reported that the global EV battery market has recorded a 38.6% YoY growth in Q1 of 2023. The total amount of energy held by batteries for pure EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs was around 133 GWh. CATL remains the top market player with a growth rate of 35.9% and 35% market share. BYD experienced a staggering growth in the Q1 of 115.5% but ranks second in market share with 16.2%. LGES is third with a growth rate of...

5 May 2023

LG Chem is reinforcing its battery materials supply chain by joining hands with China’s Huayou Cobalt to build a precursor plant in Saemangeum National Industrial Complex, located 230 kilometers southwest of Seoul, Korea. LG Chem announced that it will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with stakeholders on Wednesday, April 19, in an agreement to invest in a precursor plant in Saemangeum. The MOU-signing...

19 April 2023

LG Energy Solution today announced it will invest approximately KRW 7.2 trillion (USD 5.5 billion) to construct a battery manufacturing complex in Queen Creek, Arizona. The complex will consist of two manufacturing facilities - one for cylindrical batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and another for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pouch-type batteries for energy storage systems (ESS). It marks the largest single...

24 March 2023