Despite China’s Diversionary Move

LG Chem Nanjing signed a deal with the local government on the previous day to add a new facility—its second one in Nanjing, China.
LG Chem Nanjing signed a deal with the local government on the previous day to add a new facility—its second one in Nanjing, China.

South Korea’s leading chemical company LG Chem plans to invest around 2.3 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) in building its second electric car battery plant in Nanjing, China.

According to multiple industry sources on July 18, LG Chem Nanjing signed a deal with the local government on the previous day to add a new facility -- its second one in the city. LG Chem’s first electric car battery plant in Nanjing was built in October 2015 and has been under operation since then.

The new factory will begin construction this October and be ready to go into a full manufacturing mode after a year. The factory is expected to gradually expand the product capacity by 2023 and produce up to 32 gigawatt-hours (GWh) a year, the amount enough for 500,000 cars.

LG Chem’s new global expansion is considered quite aggressive in view of the current production capacity of 18 GWh per year both at home and abroad. “LG Chem also will increase the production capacity of its four Electric car battery factories, such as those in South Korea, Holland, the US and Poland, up to 70 GWh per year by 2020,” an LG official said.

South Korean battery makers Samsung SDI and SK Innovation as well as LG Chem were all left out from receiving electric vehicle subsidies in China, a diversionary move by the country that has emerged as the world’s biggest electric car market.

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