Gwangyang Economic Zone Authority Strengthens Capabilities to Attract Secondary Battery Investments

Held a Lecture Inviting Secondary Battery Industry Experts

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] The Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone Authority (Commissioner Song Sang-rak, hereinafter GFEZ) announced on April 13 that it held a lecture by inviting secondary battery industry experts to understand the trends of the secondary battery industry, one of the future strategic industries of the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone, and to explore the development direction of GFEZ.

They invited Um Seung-wook, head of the Next-Generation Battery Research Center at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, as a lecturer to provide employees in the investment attraction department with information on the domestic and international industry status related to lithium secondary batteries, next-generation secondary battery development trends, and the government's K-Battery development strategy. Through Q&A and discussions, they strengthened Gwangyang Bay Area's investment attraction capabilities.

Um Seung-wook, head of the Next-Generation Battery Research Center, predicted that the lithium secondary battery market will surpass the memory semiconductor market within the next 10 years and that the recycled battery market will also grow. Meanwhile, he pointed out the reality that over 90% of precursor production, a core raw material of secondary batteries, depends on China and emphasized the need for localization.

GFEZ is actively promoting plans to develop the Gwangyang Bay Area as a hub for the secondary battery materials industry, including signing an investment agreement worth 600 billion KRW last month with POSCO Chemical to establish a precursor production plant.

Song Sang-rak, commissioner of GFEZ, said, “GFEZ, which has strengths in materials sectors such as chemicals, steel, and secondary batteries, will strive to establish itself as a major production base for advanced materials industries and lead regional development.”