This photo shows LG Chem’s existing carbon nanotube plants at its Daesan complex, South Chungcheong Province, about 83 kilometers southwest of Seoul, as provided by the company on May 31, 2023.
SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Chem Ltd. said Wednesday it broke ground for its fourth carbon nanotube (CNT) plant in South Korea, to more than double output of the key industrial material in the next few years.
The CNT 4 plant, to be located in LG Chem’s Daesan complex, in Seosan, about 83 kilometers away from Seoul, will boost the chemical company’s total CNT production capacity to 6,100 tons by the time it goes into operation in 2025.
The country’s largest chemical firm’s current output capacity is at 2,900 tons.
Carbon nanotube is a next-generation material that has electric and heat conductivity equivalent to copper and diamonds, with intensity 100 times that of steel.
Such properties make it particularly useful as an additive that helps the flow of electricity in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, allowing for more room to make the battery more powerful and last longer.
It is also applied to semiconductors, automobile parts and aircraft fuselages.
LG Chem’s carbon nanotube development team shows samples at its laboratory in the Daesan complex, South Chungcheong Province, about 83 kilometers southwest of Seoul, in this photo provided by the company on May 31, 2023.
LG Chem has three CNT plants operating in South Korea, with the latest CNT 3 plant in Yeosu, about 300 km southwest of Seoul, recently put into full operation.
The CNT output will be supplied to battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd., LG Chem’s subsidiary, and other clients alike, LG Chem said.
LG Chem is also supplying CNT-added coating plastics to Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors for use in the front fenders of some of its vehicle models.
(Yonhap)
