|
MOSCOW (MRC)-- LG Chem announced that
it will invest about 65 billion KRW (USD54 million) by Q1 of next year to expand
production of carbon nanotubes (CNT) by 1,200 tons at the company’s Yeosu plant,
according to Kemicalinfo.
Once the
expansion is made, LG Chem will have a total production capacity of 1,700 tons
by adding to the existing 500 tons.
CNT is a next-generation new
material having the same electric and heat conductivity equivalent to copper and
diamonds, and its intensity is 100 times of steel. Its superior properties
over existing materials make it suitable for use in batteries, semiconductors,
automobile parts, aircraft fuselages, etc.
Regarding this extension, LG
Chem stated that this measure was taken to not only target the global EV market,
but also the CNT market that has recently been rapidly growing for use in anode
conductive additives for lithium ion batteries.
By using CNTs as
anode conductive additives, it is possible to realize high conductivity greater
than 10%, compared to existing carbon black, while reducing the use of
conductive materials by about 30%, and that space can be filled with necessary
anode materials to increase the capacity and life of lithium ion
batteries.
Thanks to these features, CNT demand is expected to post
explosive growth of an annual average of about 34% to rise from 3,000 tons last
year to 13,000 tons by 2024 mainly centering on the global EV
market.
In particular, as the world leader of EV batteries, LG Chem
plans to further strengthen product competitiveness by actively utilizing CNT
lithium ion batteries.
It also plans to gradually increase sales to
global IT materials companies and end-car makers in North America, Europe and
China and it is also scheduled to review plans for additional extensions in
2022.
Through this investment, LG Chem will be able to accelerate its
product structure advancement strategies based on distinguished technologies
that it is pursuing in the petrochemical sector.
Through the world’s
largest fluidized bed reactor that it developed, it constructed a massive
production system and it is actively targeting the market through various CNT
products ranging from existing powder forms to compressed forms that are
convenient for clients to use.
Plans are also in place to develop a
variety of new uses for applying CNT, such as gang forms (large casts for
construction), semi-conductive layers inside high-voltage cable sheaths, high
strength concrete for architecture, and commercialize these in the
market.
Noh Kug-lae, head of the Petrochemical Company, said, “We must
lead the market with distinguished technologies and products to survive in the
global materials competition,” while adding, “We will become a dominant market
leader in the next-generation high-value materials including CNTs based on our
unique proprietary technologies and experiences in mass production.”
As
MRC wrote
previously, LG Chem, a South Korean petrochemical major, reduced its
operational rates of its cracker to around 90-95% starting January 2020 due to
weaker economic fundamentals. Based in Daesan, South Korea, the cracker is able
to produce 1.27 million tons/year of ethylene and 650,000 tons/year of
propylene. The company increased capacity
utilisation at this cracker to 100% on 10 March, 2020, in order to supply
ethylene to Lotte Chemical.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for
producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report,
PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000
tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in
imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months
of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer
(homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
LG Chem
Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company
and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th
biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories
and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a
manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials
and Energy Solutions. |
 |
