.svg){kind=logo} Logo used since 30 December 2014[a] | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| KRX:051910 KRX:051915 | |
| Industry | Chemicals |
| Founded | 2009; 16 years ago (2009) |
| Headquarters | LG Twin Towers, 128, Yeoui-daero, Yeongdeungpo-gu[1],, South Korea |
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  KRW 51.865 trillion (2022)[2] |
1,798,159,000 won (2020)  | |
| KRW 2.195 trillion (2022)[2] | |
| Total assets | 41,388,894,000 won (2020) |
| Owner | LG Corporation (33%) |
Number of employees | 20,000+ (2022) |
| Subsidiaries | LG Energy Solution (81%) |
| Website | LG Chem |
LG Chem Ltd. (Korean: LG화학), often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company[2] and is headquartered inSeoul,South Korea. It was the 9th largest chemical company in the world by sales in 2021.[3] It was first established as the Lucky Chemical Industrial Corporation, which manufacturedcosmetics. It is now solely abusiness-to-business company (consumer products division was spun off intoLG Household & Health Care).
The company has eight factories inSouth Korea and a network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. This network includes a holding company inChina, 14 overseas manufacturing subsidiaries, five marketing subsidiaries, seven representative offices, and twoR&D centers.[citation needed] TheFinancial Times reported on April 2, 2017, that LG Chem would be expandingbattery production in China. At the time, China accounted for one-third of the company's total sales.[4] In April 2019, LG Chem sued rival SK Innovation for allegedly stealing trade secrets for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries.[5]
LG Chem has three main business areas:
LG Chem is a supplier of petrochemicals ranging from basic distillates to specialtypolymers. For example, it is a large producer of commonplastics such asacrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS),[6]styrene-acrylonitrile resin (SAN),[7] andpolyvinyl chloride (PVC).[8] It also produces raw materials and liquids, includingplasticizers, specialty additives,alcohols,polyolefins,acrylic acid,synthetic rubber, styrenics, performance polymers,engineering plastics,elastomers, conductive resins, and other chemicals.
LG Chem supplies display and optical films, polarizers,printed circuit materials, andtoners. It also supplies LCD polarizers, which are multi-layer sheets of film applied to the top and bottom surfaces ofTFT-LCD panels to transmit the light from the backlight unit through the panel, and3D FPR (film-type patterned retarder) film, which enables three-dimensional viewing.
LG Chem acquired AVEO Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. bio firm focused onrenal cell carcinoma, for US$571 million in 2023.[9]
LG Chem completed development and began mass production of Korea's firstlithium-ion batteries back in 1999. At the end of 2011, LG Chem was the world's third-largest maker with an annual production capacity of 1 billion cells.[citation needed] It is also a supplier of automotive battery for electric vehicles, such as the Ford Focus, Chevrolet Volt and Renault ZOE.
LG Chem Michigan is a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem based inHolland, Michigan[10] which operates a plant to manufacture advanced battery cells for electric vehicles. TheUS$303 million Holland plant received 50% of its funding fromU.S. Department of Energy matchingstimulus funds,[11] and started manufacturing battery systems in 2013.[12] The plant can produce enough cells per year to build between 50,000 and 200,000 battery packs forelectric cars andhybrids such as theChevrolet Volt byGeneral Motors,[13][14][15][16][17] theFord Focus Electric, and upcomingplug-in electric vehicles from other carmakers.[18] Its research and development arm, called LG Chem Power, is based in nearbyTroy, Michigan.[19] LG Chem Power and LG Chem Michigan were originally one company calledCompact Power, Inc.[20]
Both the Chevrolet Volt and the Ford Focus Electric initially used cells manufactured in Korea by parent LG Chem[21][22] and then later switched to cells produced in LG Chem Michigan's Holland plant once it opened.
In September 2020, LG Chem unveiled its plan to publicly list its energy division under the name ofLG Energy Solution by December.[23]
LG Chem said on September 22, 2024 that it plans to supply cathode materials to Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc. (PPES), a Japanese battery joint venture established between Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Corp.[24]
October 27, 2024 LG Chem said Sunday it has opened its third overseas research and development center in Germany to develop environment-friendly, next-generation technologies.[25]
On 7 May 2020, a gas leak incident that took place at the LG Polymer plant at Gopalapatnam on the outskirts ofVisakhapatnam resulted in the death of 12 people, hospitalization of over 300 and around thousands falling sick. Nearly 3000 people were evacuated from villages in five-kilometre radius of the plant. The gas reportedly started leaking around 2:30 am when the workers were preparing to reopen the plant after thelockdown ordered dueCOVID-19 pandemic was relaxed in the region.[26][27]
On 19 May 2020, an alkylaluminum-based catalyst powder exploded due to high-pressure while being transported at the packing room of the LG Chem plant atSeosan. The explosion exposed thepyrophoric powder to the air, causing a fire. As a result, a 39-year-old researcher died and two more workers suffered second-degree burns.[28][29][30]
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