LSIS to invest $30 million for green solutions

By Kim Yoo-chul

LS Industrial Systems (LSIS), an electric equipment firm, is planning to invest 32 billion won, or $30 million, to construct a three-story building to produce key parts used in electric vehicles (EVs).

The investment is part of the company’s recent push to strengthen its energy-efficient projects from China to Korea.

Under the investment plan, the production output of a so-called ``EV Relay’’ will be boosted to 4 million by the end of 2015 from the current 100,000, it said in a release, Monday.

The new facility, which is on an area of 13,680 square meters, will be composed of a production line, laboratory and utility facilities, according to the release.

``Production will start within the first quarter of 2012,’’ its spokesman Kim Bong-kyu said, adding the EV Relay is regarded as a critical component for electric vehicles.

``The facility investment plan follows rising demand for EVs amid the government’s push for green-related initiatives,’’ said Kim of LSIS.

Leading tech companies in Northeast Asia that include LSIS were injecting more resources to speed up the construction of power transmission lines and substations as a strategy to pave the way for a ``smart grid.’’

In line with such a shift, LSIS has been boosting its products range from low-voltage to high and ultra-high voltage applications that better suit local needs.

``LSIS has plans to locate an integrated operations center, production base and research and development facilities in China and will focus on renewable energy and smart grid technology,’’ said Kim of LSIS.

The market for EVs will grow to 12 million by the end of the next decade with an annualized growth of 32 percent, helping the EV Relay market grow by 1.7 trillion won in size in 2020, LSIS said in the statement.