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HS Hyosung enters battery material sector with Umicore deal
HS Hyosung Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang, center, poses with Umicore CEO Bart Sap, third from left, after the Korean firm signed a deal to acquire Umicore’s battery anode subsidiary, EMM, in Belgium, Friday. Courtesy of HS Hyosung
By Ko Dong-hwan
Joint venture to boost Korea’s key manufacturing sectors
HS Hyosung, a major materials and artificial intelligence (AI) developer, has expanded into the battery materials sector by acquiring a subsidiary of global materials firm Umicore, marking its entry into one of the nation’s key manufacturing industries.
The group said Monday that its acquisition of battery anode maker EMM reflects HS Hyosung Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang’s initiative to secure “technologies and intelligence assets” essential to the conglomerate’s sustainable growth.
HS Hyosung acquired EMM on Friday through an investment worth 120 million euros ($138 million) in Belgium-based Umicore. The Korean firm has also agreed with Umicore to establish a joint venture, which is pending approval from the Belgian government.
According to the company, Cho personally visited Umicore’s headquarters several times to meet his timeline for signing the acquisition deal by late October.
“Cho participated in numerous overnight meetings with Umicore despite his responsibilities as chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council, which required him to prepare for last week’s APEC meetings,” a company official said.
According to HS Hyosung, Umicore has a history spanning more than 100 years in materials and related raw technologies and currently possesses global capabilities in the battery, semiconductor and aerospace industries.
HS Hyosung said EMM’s battery anode technologies will give it access to the rapidly growing global battery materials market, driven primarily by rising demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and ongoing AI innovation. The company expects the global market share of EVs to increase from 20 percent in 2024 to nearly 40 percent by 2030.
The company is now focusing on silicon anode material, which it believes will replace the currently popular graphite anode. According to HS Hyosung, silicon’s energy density — 10 times that of graphite — will enable faster charging, improve recharge efficiency and driving range, and help lower battery costs for consumers.
Demand for more efficient batteries has been rising due to the growth of the robotics and drone industries. Citing research by global market analyst QYResearch, HS Hyosung said the global market for silicon anode materials is expected to jump to $4.7 billion by 2031, up from $500 million in 2024. Another analyst, SNE, predicts that the market could reach $7 billion by 2035, the Korean firm added.
“By acquiring EMM, our business portfolio will expand from tire cord, future mobility materials and AI-driven digital solutions to carbon fiber and battery materials,” the official said.
To support the acquisition, HS Hyosung plans to invest an additional 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion) over the next five years in its manufacturing plant in Ulsan and create new jobs. The investment aims to reshore the plant’s production capabilities, which had largely been relocated overseas, with the exception of aramid and automobile materials.