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| This April 25 photo provided by LG Energy Solution shows an aerial view of its Ochang plant, located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Yonhap |
LG Energy Solution said Tuesday it is investing 600 billion won ($450 million) to build a "mother" production line in its main battery manufacturing complex in the country's south, as it ramps up production capabilities to meet surging global demand.
The mother production line will serve as a site for managing the entire process of designing and implementing technological applications for next-generation products. This will include not only testing but also verification stages, the world's second-largest battery maker said in a release.
Typically, a pilot line is built for trial production in manufacturing, but it does not cover other required processes like verification before a product goes into commercial production.
LGES, the world's second-largest battery maker, announced a 4 trillion-won plan in December last year to expand its Ochang complex by 2026. LGES CEO Kwon Young-soo said in March the Ochang complex will be upgraded to a mother production line that works as a control tower for the global battery business.
The construction of the new mother line is set to be completed in December 2024. It will primarily oversee the test production and verification for the mass production of pouch cells.
The latest move came as battery makers are bolstering facility investments to respond to burgeoning demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
It is also part of efforts to qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act, a new U.S. law that only gives subsidies to EVs made under stricter conditions that are practically aimed at reducing dependence on China in global EV supply chains.
Last week, the Korean government and top battery makers said they plan to jointly invest 20 trillion won in the country over the next seven years to nurture advanced battery technologies, including solid-state batteries.
LGES is spending 580 billion won to build a separate mother line for a next-generation 46-millimeter-diameter cylindrical cell. (Yonhap)
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