Lotte Chemical-US battery startup

Lotte Chemical signs US$200 mln deal with U.S. firm to make EV battery components

SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- Lotte Chemical Corp. said Wednesday it has signed an initial deal with a U.S. startup to produce advanced battery materials for electric vehicles, as the company pushes to pivot to the battery materials business.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed with Soelect Inc., a North Carolina-based battery component maker, Lotte intends to invest US$200 million in the joint venture to build a lithium-metal anodes factory in the United States by 2025, Lotte said in a release.

Lithium-metal batteries use metal, instead of graphite, which greatly enhances energy density and stability compared with lithium-ion batteries.

Lotte Chemical, the petrochemical unit of South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte Group, unveiled a plan to make inroads into the green energy and battery materials sectors in steps toward sustainable growth.

Lotte Chemical said it will spend 4 trillion won (US$3.16 billion) on the battery materials business to meet the growing demand from electric vehicle makers and aims to post 5 trillion won in sales for the sector by 2030.

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