"LG Chem and Toyota Group Join Forces to Target Cathode Material Market" Gumi Plant Welcomes Toyota Tsusho as Second Largest Shareholder

[Financial News]   LG Chem and Toyota Group have joined hands to target the cathode material market.
LG Chem announced on the 9th that Japan's Toyota Tsusho has acquired a 25% stake in the Gumi Cathode Material Plant (LG-HY BCM), becoming the second largest shareholder.
Toyota Tsusho is a general trading company of the Toyota Group, responsible for a significant portion of raw material procurement for Toyota Motor Corporation.
With Toyota Tsusho's participation, the shareholding structure of LG Chem's Gumi Cathode Material Plant has changed to LG Chem 51%, Toyota Tsusho 25%, and Huayou Cobalt from 49% to 24%. This allows compliance with the newly defined PFE (Prohibited Foreign Entity) criteria as of July, enabling response to IRA regulations.
Accordingly, Toyota Tsusho plans to supply cathode materials produced at the Gumi Cathode Material Plant to North American battery customers.
LG Chem plans to further accelerate its market penetration in the cathode material sector through world-class products and strong global partnerships.
LG Chem's Gumi Cathode Material Plant is a key hub with an annual production capacity of 66,000 tons. It has recently applied the LGPF (LG Precursor Free) process, which skips the precursor stage and directly calcines customized metals, achieving world-class product competitiveness.
Additionally, LG Chem is continuously expanding its customer base with a stable supply chain capable of responding to major global markets, including Cheongju and Gumi in Korea, the Tennessee plant in the US scheduled to operate in the second half of 2026, and Wuxi in China.
In this regard, LG Chem has secured global electric vehicle and electric vehicle component companies as clients, including a 2.9 trillion won cathode material supply contract with Toyota North America Manufacturing (TEMA) in 2023, a 25 trillion won supply contract for GM's electric vehicles capable of producing over 5 million units in February last year, and a cathode material order from Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES), a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic in September.
LG Chem Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol stated, "Toyota Tsusho's stake participation is an important turning point for LG Chem to strengthen its cathode material supply competitiveness in the global market while responding to US IRA regulations," adding, "We will further strengthen our position as a global market leader in the battery materials market based on world-class products and strong partnerships."




padet80@fnnews.com Park Shin-young Reporter