South Korea's LG Chem develops 'new form factor' cylindrical lithium battery

Lithium Grid News: South Korea’s LG Chem said on October 21 that it plans to triple the production capacity of cylindrical lithium batteries used by Tesla and other companies, and is considering expanding in Europe and North America to meet the soaring Demand. LG Chem said: “Due to increased shipments of car batteries and electric vehicle cylindrical batteries, sales are expected to continue to grow.” LG Chem’s customers also include General Motors, Volkswagen Group and Hyundai.

LG Chem has production facilities in Poland, the United States, South Korea and China. LG Chem CEO Hak Cheol Shin said the company is negotiating with several automakers to establish joint ventures to produce car batteries. Xin Xuezhe said that LG Chem is already advancing battery joint ventures with General Motors and Geely, and hopes to expand to other automakers.

LG Chem also stated that the company is developing a 'new form-factor' (new form-factor) cylindrical battery, which will increase the energy density by 5 times. The power is increased by 6 times, but there is no detailed description. This is similar to the goal of Tesla’s self-manufacturing of the new battery 4680 battery announced last month, which will increase the range of Tesla vehicles by 16%.

LG Chem announced that its total operating profit in the third quarter increased by 159% from the same period last year to 902 billion won (5.3 billion yuan), in line with estimates. The operating profit of the battery division more than doubled from the same period last year to 169 billion won (RMB 1 billion), mainly due to the increase in sales of cylindrical batteries, new electric vehicles launched by European automakers, and new mobile Rise in equipment sales. The battery department also includes the small batteries used in Apple's iPhone. Due to the growing demand for electric vehicle batteries, LG Chem expects battery sales and profits to rise further in the fourth quarter.

LG and CATL provide batteries for Tesla models manufactured in China, while Panasonic provides batteries for Tesla vehicles manufactured in the United States. LG Chem also supplies batteries for Hyundai and Volvo.