[Featured Stock] ENPlus, Lithium-Sulfur & All-Solid-State Battery Materials Up... Mass Production of CNT Replacing Carbon Black

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] ENPlus stock is on the rise. The news that the company has succeeded in securing a key patent for mass production of high-quality carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with improved orientation and uniformity, while focusing on fostering its secondary battery material business, appears to have influenced the stock price. This is expected to further strengthen ENPlus's competitiveness in the secondary battery business.

As of 9:29 AM on the 21st, ENPlus is trading at 3,915 KRW, up 12.82% from the previous day.

ENPlus announced on the 21st that it has acquired a patent from the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Chonnam National University for the "Method for manufacturing catalysts for carbon nanotube bundle synthesis and method for manufacturing carbon nanotube bundles using the same." Based on the related process technology, ENPlus plans to develop "next-generation secondary battery materials" such as conductive agents with excellent dispersibility and conductivity.

The patent secured by ENPlus is a high-quality catalyst manufacturing technology for producing CNT aggregates (bundles) with excellent physical properties. It is a core process patent for producing "ultra-small catalyst particles" with an average particle size of 10 μm (micrometers) or less.

CNTs have electrical and thermal conductivity comparable to copper and diamond and possess strength 100 times that of steel, making them a next-generation material attracting attention in fields such as batteries, semiconductors, and displays. When used as conductive agents in cathode materials, which are key battery components, they increase lithium-ion conductivity, thereby enhancing charge and discharge efficiency.

Previously developed CNT synthesis methods include laser ablation, electric discharge, plasma chemical vapor deposition, thermal chemical vapor deposition, and catalytic chemical vapor deposition.

The catalytic chemical vapor deposition method adopted by ENPlus has the advantage of synthesizing high-quality CNTs in large quantities at relatively low cost. However, a drawback has been that depending on the catalyst size and shape, heterogeneity or aggregation of the CNT bundles may occur during synthesis. If the bundles are heterogeneous, the dispersibility of CNTs in composite materials such as polymers and metals can decrease, leading to deterioration of the final product's properties.

ENPlus has focused on overcoming these drawbacks and has succeeded in securing process technology from the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Chonnam National University that enhances the dispersibility of synthesized bundles and enables the production of high-quality CNT bundles with minimal aggregation between bundles.

An ENPlus representative stated, "When CNTs are used as cathode conductive agents, their electrical conductivity is higher than that of conventional carbon black materials, allowing the amount used to be reduced by about 30%. The weight saved from reducing conductive agents can be added as cathode material, increasing battery capacity and lifespan, as well as lowering production costs required to achieve the same performance."

He added, "CNTs have a high possibility of being adopted as conductive agent materials for next-generation batteries such as lithium-sulfur batteries and all-solid-state batteries. In addition to battery materials, their application fields are extensive, including semiconductor process trays, conductive paints, and heating elements for road ice prevention, making the ability to mass-produce high-quality CNTs extremely important."