ENPlus sells 12 billion KRW stake in Barun Electronics... 'Expansion of Graphene-based Secondary Battery Material Factory'

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] ENPlus is selling its stake in Barun Electronics to S-Mac for 12 billion KRW. The sales proceeds will be used to expand production capacity (CAPA) for the existing fire truck business as well as mass production of secondary battery materials and heat dissipation materials.

ENPlus announced on the 18th that it will sell 22.4 million shares (about 30%) of Barun Electronics stock it holds to S-Mac. With this sale as a turning point, ENPlus plans to focus on its graphene materials business.

ENPlus plans to use the funds secured through this sale to actively expand CAPA in the materials industry, including nano carbon nanotubes (CNT), conductive materials for secondary battery cathodes and anodes, and heat dissipation materials. The factory expansion is expected to proceed at an annual scale of 2,500 tons, which can generate sales of up to 60 billion KRW. Once the new materials facility expansion is completed, mass production is scheduled to begin by the end of this year.

ENPlus had already made its first investment last May by establishing a graphene new materials research center and production facilities in Gimje City, Jeollabuk-do. Based on the expanded production facilities, continuous R&D efforts led to successful direct production of CNT earlier this year, and the company has been focusing on developing graphene-based secondary battery materials applicable to electric vehicle batteries by conducting various sample tests with domestic and international secondary battery companies and IT firms.

An ENPlus official said, “As a result of focusing on electric vehicle-related materials business, we succeeded in developing lightweight parts applicable to electric vehicles in collaboration with ‘Guklim P&Tech,’ which supplies injection molding to domestic automakers.” He added, “Recently, we have developed graphene battery finished products and started product commercialization, making related achievements visible.”

He continued, “To strengthen the related business division, we upgraded the ‘Graphene New Materials Research Center’ to the ‘New Materials Business Headquarters’ and completed all preparations, including recruiting an executive director who previously served as head of the secondary battery marketing group at SDI.” He added, “Based on this expansion, we will begin full-scale mass production from next year to establish a mid- to long-term growth engine.”