Shin Jin-yong, Executive Director of Gangwon Energy, is explaining the company's new business at a press conference on the 15th. / Photo by Gangwon Energy
[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] “Gangwon Energy will combine its core secondary battery equipment with the engineering expertise of Gangwon Esolution, which is set to be acquired in the second half of the year, to relaunch as a specialized secondary battery company based on thermal management engineering technology.”
On the 15th, Shin Jinyong, Executive Director of Gangwon Energy, held a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, and made this announcement.
Gangwon Energy was suspended from trading after receiving a qualified audit opinion in 2019 but resumed trading on the 25th of last month following the Korea Exchange's decision to maintain its listing. The company received unqualified audit opinions for 2020 and 2021 and successfully returned to profitability last year, resolving uncertainties about its status as a going concern.
Executive Director Shin Jinyong is the CEO and largest shareholder of Pyeongsan Partners, which became the largest shareholder of Gangwon Energy in October 2020. Pyeongsan Partners is an affiliate of the PSM Pyeongsan Group. Shin, a second-generation member of the Pyeongsan Group, majored in computer engineering and mathematics at Johns Hopkins University in the United States and joined Gangwon Energy after overseeing operations at MOLOCO, a U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) advertising platform.
Shin stated, “Based on Gangwon Energy’s well-recognized thermal management technology in the domestic and international energy plant markets, we independently developed an electric heater dryer, a core piece of equipment in the cathode material process for secondary batteries.” He added, “We received a priority examination decision from the Korean Intellectual Property Office and filed a patent in February; the patent registration is expected to be completed around September.”
Gangwon Energy plans to expand its portfolio by completing the development of not only core equipment for the cathode material process but also mixing equipment for the electrode process through its in-house R&D technology research center.
Additionally, the company is preparing to acquire Gangwon Esolution, a specialized secondary battery company, in the second half of the year. Established in 1983, Gangwon Esolution is an engineering specialist in manufacturing equipment for secondary battery cathode materials and electrode processes. Leveraging extensive know-how in designing and manufacturing various physicochemical equipment, it entered the secondary battery equipment market in 2013 and has since built a strong reference base.
Currently, it is conducting turnkey engineering projects for secondary battery cathode material pre-processes for clients such as EcoPro Group. Having secured orders worth 21 billion KRW last year alone, its sales are expected to grow by more than 570% compared to the previous year.
In particular, as EcoPro BM plans to expand cathode material production from 80,000 tons to 320,000 tons by 2025, orders for secondary battery production equipment handled by Gangwon Energy and pre-process engineering design managed by Gangwon Esolution are expected to increase significantly.
Executive Director Shin said, “Building on the strong performance of our existing energy plant business, we have secured new growth engines by advancing into the secondary battery business.” He explained, “With major secondary battery companies such as EcoPro BM, POSCO Chemical, and LG Chem planning to expand their cathode material production plants, we will maximize synergy with Gangwon Esolution and grow into a company with sales exceeding 100 billion KRW within two years.”
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