Enchem, the world's 4th largest secondary battery electrolyte manufacturer, recently announced on the 8th that the groundbreaking ceremony for the production plant of IDEL, a joint venture with Jungang D&M in Saemangeum, was successfully held with major global customers in attendance.
At the groundbreaking ceremony on the 2nd, Kim Kwan-young, Governor of Jeonbuk Province, Kang Im-jun, Mayor of Gunsan, and Cho Hyun-chan, Head of the Saemangeum Industrial Complex Project Group at the Korea Rural Community Corporation, attended and delivered congratulatory messages expressing their expectations for the plant construction.
Notably, Enchem’s major global customers including GM, Panasonic, Lishen, Envision AESC, Xingheng, SVolt, and Sunwoda gathered in one place to brighten the event and expressed their anticipation for the lithium salt plant, which marks the beginning of raw material localization.
Oh Jeong-kang, CEO of Enchem-IDEL, emphasized, “As the global economy is at a turning point, if we do not boldly take on challenges now, it will be difficult to find opportunities again due to the nature of the materials industry. Through this Saemangeum lithium salt investment, we will secure a competitive edge and lead the industry in the global secondary battery materials sector.”
Following the groundbreaking ceremony, a forum was held where Kim Kwang-joo, CEO of SNE Research, a global energy market research firm, presented a forecast that Enchem will rise to become the world’s 2nd largest electrolyte supplier by 2029. This was followed by a presentation from Enchem officials under the theme “Enchem’s Past, Present, and Future Dreams.”
Regarding the groundbreaking ceremony, an Enchem official stated, “Starting with this groundbreaking ceremony, Enchem is expected to establish a localization foundation for lithium salt, a core material of electrolyte, and leap forward as the world’s number one electrolyte manufacturer.”
Meanwhile, the Enchem-IDEL Saemangeum project, which is being implemented in phases, aims to invest a total of 600 billion KRW by the end of 2026 to build a lithium salt manufacturing facility with a maximum capacity of 50,000 tons. Upon completion of the Saemangeum lithium salt project, Enchem and IDEL are expected to possess one of the world’s top-tier lithium salt production capacities.
Additionally, Enchem, which already has a worldwide electrolyte supply network in major battery production hubs such as the United States, Europe, and China, plans to leap forward as a global top player in the secondary battery industry through IDEL’s Saemangeum lithium salt plant.
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