LG Energy Solution building new battery line in Ochang

LG Energy Solution will invest 600 billion won ($450 million) to build a new production line in Ochang, North Chungcheong, the latest in a series of efforts to ramp up production capacity for electric vehicle batteries.

LG Energy Solution's Ochang plant, located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong [LG ENERGY SOLUTION]

LG Energy Solution will invest 600 billion won ($450 million) to build a new production line in Ochang, North Chungcheong, the latest in a series of efforts to ramp up production capacity for electric vehicle batteries.

The new line, due to go online by December 2024, will be manufacturing pouch-type battery cells with diameters and lengths measuring over 500 millimeters.

This is part of the EV battery maker's 4-trillion-won investment plan aimed at developing the Ochang manufacturing complex into a hub for key battery development, production and research by 2026, which was announced last year.

LG Energy Solution described the new facility as a "mother line," as it not only carries out testing but also the verification stages for the mass production of products. While a pilot line is commonly used for trial production, it does not cover other mandatory processes, like verification before a product can enter commercial production.

The new production line will help the company swiftly meet the surging demand for EV batteries and accelerate the pace of mass production.

As the EV market continues to grow rapidly, particularly in North America, demand for a variety of prototype battery products has increased, with demand for pouch-type batteries rising fast.

"As global demand for batteries is expanding, the mass production capability, which enables the production of high-quality products at the right time, grows more important," a spokesperson at LG Energy Solution said.

By establishing a mother line, the company will provide customers with the world's best quality, lowest costs and best delivery to gain a competitive edge, the spokesperson added.

"The Ochang Energy Plant will act as the control tower as it will be the first factory to deploy new technologies among other factories aound the world," said Kwon Young-soo, vice chairman of LG Energy Solution.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]