Hanchang Confirms Acquisition of 'Seltec'... "Securing New Growth Engine in Secondary Batteries"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Hanchang announced on the 15th that it has acquired 100% of the shares of ‘Seltec,’ a specialized company in manufacturing production equipment for secondary batteries.

Established in 2012, Seltec supplies precision molds and automation equipment necessary for secondary battery manufacturing.

In particular, Seltec possesses automation equipment manufacturing technology for the packing, degassing, and activation (DSF&EOL) processes in secondary battery production, enabling turnkey project orders.

Additionally, Seltec is led by experts who have been engaged in secondary battery-related work for over 20 years. Most of the employees are research and development personnel, giving the company the capability and accumulated technology to independently develop everything from the design to the manufacturing of secondary battery production equipment.

Based on this, until entering rehabilitation procedures earlier this year, Seltec had been supplying secondary battery production equipment for over 10 years as a primary partner of LG Energy Solution to domestic and overseas subsidiaries in the United States, Poland, China, and other locations.

Hanchang, which has been actively promoting ESG business this year, selected the secondary battery business as a new growth engine and pursued the acquisition of Seltec. A conditional investment contract was signed in May, and with the recent approval of Seltec’s rehabilitation plan at the creditors’ meeting, Hanchang’s acquisition of Seltec has been finalized.

Hanchang plans to focus its capabilities on the early normalization of Seltec’s management and aims to achieve visible results in the secondary battery business sector by the second half of next year.

A company official explained, “With the global eco-friendly policies and increased investments by battery companies, a ‘super cycle’ for battery equipment is expected to emerge from next year. Hanchang has officially entered the secondary battery business as a future growth engine. Together with Seltec, which has built a stable network with clients over a long period through its unique technology, we plan to maximize synergy and expand market competitiveness.”

Recently, the U.S. government has been implementing the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) policy to encourage battery factories to be built within the United States. Accordingly, the three major domestic battery companies?LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI?are accelerating the construction of battery factories in the U.S., rapidly increasing demand for battery equipment.

The investment scale of the three domestic battery companies in U.S. factories next year is estimated to exceed $25.5 billion (34.5474 trillion KRW), with the battery equipment sector accounting for $10.5 billion (14.2642 trillion KRW) of that amount.

Meanwhile, according to SNE Research, the secondary battery market size is expected to increase about eightfold over the next 10 years, from $46.1 billion (62.4332 trillion KRW) in 2020 to $351.7 billion (476.3073 trillion KRW) in 2030, driven by the expansion of electric vehicle adoption.