Gudonghui Expands Business Scope in Secondary Battery Materials... LS MnM Signs MOU with IS Dongseo

Vice Chairman Kwon Min-seok of IS Dongseo and MOU
Securing Battery Recycling Materials and Copper Scrap
Koo Dong-hwi "Localization of Battery Materials... Contributing to National Industrial Development"

Gu Dong-hwi, the third-generation owner of LS Group and CEO (Vice President) of LS MnM, has expanded the company's business by proactively securing raw materials for secondary battery materials. LS MnM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IS Dongseo, a supplier of battery recycling materials such as black mass and copper scrap, aiming to improve the production efficiency of secondary battery materials and high-purity electrolytic copper.

Koo Dong-hwi, CEO (Vice President) of LS MnM, is being interviewed by the press at 'InterBattery 2024' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on March 6. Photo by Yonhap News.

On the 7th, LS MnM announced that it had signed a business agreement with IS Dongseo for battery recycling business cooperation. The signing ceremony held at IS Dongseo's headquarters in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was attended by CEO Gu Dong-hwi, Vice President Shim Hyun-seok of LS MnM, Vice Chairman Kwon Min-seok of IS Dongseo, and CEO Lee Jun-gil of IS Dongseo.

Through this agreement, LS MnM secured key materials such as black mass. IS Dongseo will supply black mass and copper scrap, which are materials generated during battery recycling, to LS MnM. LS MnM plans to process the raw materials received from IS Dongseo to produce secondary battery materials and high-purity electrolytic copper. In the future, they plan to cooperate so that LS MnM processes recycled raw materials such as electronic scrap (PCB) produced by IS Dongseo.

Black mass contains nickel, cobalt, manganese, lithium, and other elements, allowing the extraction of various high-purity metal compounds. Electronic scrap also contains various metals and precious metals such as copper, gold, silver, and palladium. LS MnM will be able to expand its supply of metal and precious metal recycling raw materials.

The two companies plan to expand the import of battery raw materials through cooperation on domestic and international battery recycling raw material procurement projects. They will jointly review whether waste business items promoted by IS Dongseo can be processed using LS MnM's facilities.

CEO Gu Dong-hwi said, "I am pleased to prepare a new future together with IS Dongseo, which is making strides in the construction and environmental industries," adding, "We will contribute to the national industry and local community development through the localization of battery materials."

Vice Chairman Kwon Min-seok said, "The advanced battery recycling value chain and world-class metal technology of IS Dongseo combined with LS MnM's secondary battery material business will create new synergy."

IS Dongseo, a mid-sized construction company, has recently been expanding its share in the secondary battery recycling business. It is the only company in Korea that has established the entire value chain of waste battery recycling, including electric vehicle dismantling, raw material recovery, and material productization.

Since last year, LS MnM has been leading LS Group's secondary battery material business with an investment of about 1.8 trillion KRW. It is conducting the EVBM (Electric Vehicle Battery Material) project. Large-scale production facilities are being built in the Onsan National Industrial Complex and Saemangeum Industrial Complex to process raw materials such as black mass and produce high-purity metal compounds. The Onsan complex will start operations in 2027, and the Saemangeum complex in 2029. By 2029, production capacity is expected to increase to 62,000 tons per year of nickel sulfate (based on nickel metal) and 14,500 tons per year of black mass (based on nickel metal).