Plans of construction of a third plant are also underway this year
Eyeing the rapidly rising demand for electric vehicles globally, LG Chem announced the launch of Korea’s largest Carbon Nanotube (CNT) manufacturing plant, the 1,200 metric tons (MT) expansion of the second plant of Yeosu CNT. CNT is a vital component of EV batteries.
Adding the plant has already begun operations, LG Chem said that with the expanded plant, it has now attained a total capacity of 1,700 MT, having had an existing capacity of 500 MT.
LG Chem informed that the CNT produced at this plant will be supplied to market-leading global electric vehicle battery companies as a conductive additive. Also, its applications will be extended to a wide range of fields such as surface heating elements and semi-conductive high-voltage cables.
The new plant was constructed as the world’s largest single-line production facility with a self-developed fluidized bed reactor. The plant has achieved stable quality control by complete automation and reduced power consumption by 30 per cent through process innovation.
According to reports, the global CNT demand is expected to grow rapidly at 40 per cent per year, from 5,000 MT in 2020 to 20,000 in 2024. With this growth trend and plans of construction of a third plant underway this year, LG Chem envisions establishing itself as a principal supplier of CNT to the EV market by expanding its capacity in the future.
Kug Lae Noh, President of Petrochemicals Company said, “CNT is a business with huge potential, as they are used in various products apart from batteries. The company, therefore, plans to become a global leader based on expanded production capacity and competitiveness in quality.”
