Lotte Energy Materials, the subsidiary of South Korea’s Lotte Chemical, said it planned to build a copper foil plant in the US to help electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers in the region meet local content requirements under the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Copper foil is a key component in EV batteries, a market dominated by Asian manufacturers and, particularly, Chinese and South Korean companies.
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Lotte Energy Materials, formerly known as Iljin Materials, want to boosts its presence in this market, having recently announced plans to build a new Spanish plant to expand capacity at its factory in Malaysia.
Last month, the leading South Korean copper foil maker, SK Nexilis, agreed to build a plant in North America with Japan’s Tsusho Corporation.
Earlier this month, Lotte Energy Materials filed an application with Delaware to establish its US subsidiary in the state, according to local reports citing industry sources which also claimed the company planned to start construction as soon as it received approval for the new company.
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Among other US states under consideration for the plant was Georgia where Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution building a JV EV battery plant which was scheduled to be complete by the end of 2025.
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By GlobalDataKentucky, Tennessee and Michigan were also being considered with talks said to be taking place with state governments over tax incentives.
The company was understood to have recently signed a long term copper foil supply deal with Tesla while it also counts China’s BYD and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI as customers.
Lotte Energy Materials was eyeing investment up to KRW800bn (US$600m) in the US plant in the first construction phase of constructionwhich it hoped would begin early next year once all planning and documentation is done.
