LG Chem to supply batteries to Japanese company

By Kim Yoo-chul

LG Chem has won a contract to supply batteries to Green Power Development Corp. (GPD) for the Japanese company’s energy storage systems (ESS) project in Hokkaido.

The ESS project is part of the Japanese company’s plan to build four solar power plants.

The agreement calls for LG Chem to supply batteries by 2017, with the deal worth about 30 billion won. The company did not specify the exact value of the deal.

It said the capacity of the ESS will reach 31 megawatts per hour, enough to power about 6,000 households a day, which would make it the largest in Japan.

“LG Chem passed tough qualification tests. We expect to seal additional orders from other private Japanese companies,” LG Chem President Kwon Young-soo said in a statement.

The latest agreement will also help bolster the company’s position in the North America and European markets.

ESS has become a crucial element in utility facilities, and LG’s key focus will be the construction of efficient ESS ecosystems for global export, LG officials said.