by Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) – Korea’s LG Chem announced on Sunday a partnership with Youhan, a subsidiary of China’s Huayou Group, to jointly build an electric vehicle battery component factory in Morocco to diversify their portfolio.

The site, which is due to start production in 2026, is expected to produce 50,000 tonnes of cathode materials – a main component of batteries – for lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) technology each year, LG Chem added. According to the group, this capacity would allow the equipment of 500,000 entry-level electric vehicles.

The Korean giant, known for its production of cathodes for more high-end nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) technology, is thus entering the LFP segment for the first time. This more affordable technology should help meet the growing demand for electric vehicles that are smaller and cheaper than most of the current supply.

The Korean group added that the cathodes produced in Morocco will be exported to North America and that they will be eligible for IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) subsidies because the Kingdom is linked to the United States by a free trade agreement. exchange.

LG Chem and Youshan will, however, need to adjust their respective stakes in the project to comply with the US Treasury Department’s guidelines on foreign entities, LG added.

This Treasury provision targets China in particular, which is very present in all links in the electric vehicle production chain.

LG Chem also announced another investment with Huayou Cobalt this time to build a lithium processing plant in Morocco, with the ambition of mass production by 2025 with an annual capacity of 52,000 tonnes of lithium.

(Gilles Guillaume for the )

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