LNF announced that it held a board meeting on the afternoon of the 10th and decided to establish a new corporation and acquire shares in it to enter the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery materials business.
The new corporation will be called 'L&F LFP (tentative name)', and a total investment of 336.5 billion won will be made, with a production capacity of up to 60,000 tons. L&F plans to invest 200 billion won in the corporation and establish it as a 100% subsidiary.
LNF explained that this decision was a strategic choice to strengthen market responsiveness through product portfolio expansion amidst difficulties in the secondary battery industry as a whole, such as global economic uncertainty and slowing demand for electric vehicles. The plan is to expand customer choices by adding LFP materials to the existing lineup of high-nickel series high value-added products.
The company is also paying attention to the recent 'de-China' trend that has been expanding in the global battery industry. Currently, Chinese companies have a high market share in the LFP market due to relatively low technological entry barriers, but the demand for non-Chinese materials is increasing, especially in the energy storage system (ESS) field.
LNF has been preparing for the development of LFP products and has recently been receiving increasing inquiries from customers regarding the supply of related materials.
“We are exploring various strategic directions even in a difficult market environment with slowing global demand and intensifying competition,” said Seung-heon Ryu, CFO of LFP. “Although China has dominated the market, we will strengthen our position in the LFP market based on our product competitiveness and mass production capabilities.”
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