EcoPro Group has established a mid-to-long-term vision to secure the electric vehicle market that will emerge after the chasm (temporary stagnation in growth industries) and achieve KRW 32 trillion in sales and a 12% operating profit margin by 2030.
EcoPro Presents Vision to Achieve KRW 32 Trillion Sales and 12% Operating Profit Margin by 2030
On the 8th, EcoPro held a corporate briefing session called "Eco-Friendly Day" at the Fairmont Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, targeting domestic and international investors, where it announced this mid-to-long-term strategy. Eco-Friendly Day, which started in 2021, marked its third year this year. About 120 people attended the event, including former EcoPro Chairman Dong-chae Lee, EcoPro CEO Ho-jun Song, EcoPro BM CEO Moon-ho Choi, EcoPro Materials CEO Byung-hoon Kim, EcoPro HN CEO Jong-seop Kim, representatives from each affiliate, and investors.
On this day, EcoPro established a mid-to-long-term vision centered on building a cathode active material capacity of 710,000 tons and a precursor capacity of 255,000 tons by 2030, aiming for KRW 32 trillion in sales and a 12% operating profit margin.
While solidifying its leadership in the high-nickel ternary cathode active material market, EcoPro plans to diversify its technology portfolio by developing mid-nickel (nickel content 40?60%) materials. Additionally, it will merge EcoPro Innovation, which operates the lithium conversion business, and EcoPro CNG, which handles recycling, to enhance synergy. The company will establish an integrated cathode active material corporation in Indonesia and actively secure nickel resources. EcoPro explained, "The core of the mid-to-long-term vision is to become the winner in the post-chasm market by achieving technology leadership, cost leadership, and eco-friendly leadership."
Former EcoPro Chairman Dong-chae Lee said, "We were the first movers and market pioneers by challenging the cathode active material business abandoned by large corporations in 2003, being the first in Korea to mass-produce high-nickel cathode active materials, and establishing a closed-loop system in Pohang to achieve vertical integration. We aim to pioneer the market again as first movers, and unless there is disruptive innovation that breaks down and reorganizes the cathode active material industry structure, it will not be possible."
Diversifying Portfolio Beyond High-Nickel Cathode Active Materials to Solid-State and Precursors
EcoPro plans to secure technology leadership by developing four major materials: solid electrolytes, silicon (Si) anode materials, OLO (over-lithiated oxide) cathode active materials, and sodium-ion battery (SIB) cathode active materials, alongside securing a firm market dominance in high-nickel cathode active materials.
EcoPro BM aims for KRW 25 trillion in sales by 2030, with KRW 21 trillion coming from existing high-nickel cathode active materials (holding the global No. 1 market share) and KRW 4 trillion from the four new materials under development. EcoPro plans to strengthen its leadership in the ternary market through mid-nickel products with nickel content lowered to 60?65%, in addition to high-nickel products with nickel content raised from the current 90% to 95%. It also intends to respond to the diversifying market by targeting the high-end market with solid electrolytes and the ultra-low-cost market with SIB cathode active materials.
EcoPro Materials, optimized as a precursor company responding to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), is accelerating customized technology development to secure new global customers for entry into the U.S. electric vehicle market. It is finalizing the development of NCMX (nickel-cobalt-manganese with an additional element x) precursor, which is currently undergoing customer sample testing, to capture the high-end market and plans to diversify customers through future development of high-voltage mid-nickel precursors and next-generation precursors. EcoPro Materials is also developing eco-friendly technology that recovers caustic soda and sulfuric acid by decomposing wastewater generated during the material manufacturing process through EWT (eco-friendly wastewater treatment) and plans to apply this to its production process. By 2030, EcoPro Materials aims to achieve total sales of KRW 6.3 trillion, including KRW 700 billion from raw material commercialization and KRW 5.6 trillion from expanding external customers for precursors.
EcoPro HN will maintain competitiveness in its existing environmental business while expanding new businesses such as eco-friendly ship emission reduction devices, carbon dioxide capture and utilization, and plastic recycling. It will also enter semiconductor front-end and back-end material development through the second phase investment in the Chopyeong plant, which will handle crucible and dopant production. Through this strategy, EcoPro HN targets KRW 800 billion in sales from the environmental sector and KRW 500 billion from new materials by 2030, totaling KRW 1.3 trillion in sales.
Former EcoPro Chairman Dong-chae Lee said, "In the past 26 years, there has not been a single day without crisis, but each time we turned risk into opportunity and chose the future rather than settling for the present. We will overcome crises and leap forward to create a new future through research and development, productivity improvement, and management efficiency, which are the essence of manufacturing."
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