South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. has unveiled its plan to boost battery material sales to 30 trillion won ($22.38 billion) by 2030, a six-fold increase from last year. The company’s overall sales target by that year would exceed 70 trillion won, more than double the figure achieved in the previous year.

LG Chem’s Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol announced this ambitious goal during his keynote speech at Bank of America’s international investor event held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel in Yongsan-gu on Tuesday.

“We aim to achieve a six-fold growth in battery materials sales to 30 trillion won by 2030, surpassing last year’s record of 4.7 trillion won,” he said. As part of its expansion plans, the company intends to significantly increase the production capacity of cathode materials from the current 120,000 tons to 470,000 tons by 2028.

LG Chem is expanding its product lineup in the pouch and cylindrical battery segment, focusing on high-nickel batteries, while also producing ultra-high-nickel cathode materials with a nickel content of over 95 percent.

The company is also manufacturing single-crystal cathode materials, which can lower the risk of fire incidents and increase energy density. In addition, LG Chem is actively considering expanding its cathode materials business to target the mid- to low-cost electric vehicle market, exploring mid-nickel, lithium iron phosphate (LFP), and manganese-rich cathode materials.

Shin further shared his vision of transforming LG Chem into a comprehensive battery materials company by expanding into other battery materials fields apart from cathode materials. An LG Chem official said that the company plans to enhance the competitiveness of battery separators through collaboration with Japan’s Toray.

LG Chem is making strategic moves in other sectors as well. In the field of eco-friendly materials, the company aims to increase its sales from 1.9 trillion won last year to 8 trillion won by 2030 by strengthening recycling, biodegradable, and bio-plastic products.

On the drug development front, LG Chem aims to achieve 2 trillion won in sales by 2030 based on Aveo Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. oncology drug developer the company acquired earlier this year.

By Song Min-geun and Minu Kim

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