LG Chem, China's Huayou to make battery materials in Indonesia, Morocco
LG Chem Ltd has entered a partnership with China's Huayou Group's subsidiary Youshan, it said on Sunday, to build a joint electric vehicle (EV) battery material plant in Morocco to diversify its portfolio.
Huayou has joined the growing number of Chinese electric vehicle and battery companies seeking to expand overseas to get closer to their foreign clients and benefit from local incentives.
Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses
Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Digital Marketing and AnalyticsVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Digital TransformationVisitNorthwestern UniversityKellogg Post Graduate Certificate in Digital MarketingVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Applied Business AnalyticsVisit In a separate statement, Huayou's listed unit Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co said it intended to build plants with LG Chem in Indonesia and Morocco under a strategic partnership to promote international growth.
The Morocco plant, set to start production in 2026, aims to produce 50,000 tonnes of lithium-phosphate-iron (LFP) cathode materials annually, enough to be installed in 500,000 entry-class EVs, the South Korean chemical maker said in a statement.
LG Chem, known for manufacturing more expensive nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathodes, is entering the LFP cathode business to meet growing demand for cheaper LFP batteries as the auto industry seeks to produce more affordable EVs, whose most expensive components are the batteries.
LG Chem said LFP cathodes produced at the Morocco plant will be supplied to the North American market and could be eligible to receive subsidies from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as Morocco is a free-trade partner with the United States.
The IRA is designed to
