Tentative Establishment of L&F LFP
On the afternoon of July 10, L&F, a secondary battery materials company, announced that its board of directors had approved the establishment of a new subsidiary for the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) business and the acquisition of shares in the newly established company.
The new LFP entity, tentatively named L&F LFP, will invest a total of 336.5 billion KRW to secure a production capacity of up to 60,000 tons. L&F will invest 200 billion KRW in equity in the new company, which will be established as a wholly owned subsidiary.
L&F stated, "Despite the domestic secondary battery industry facing a difficult period due to global economic uncertainty and slowing demand for electric vehicles, we have made a bold decision to enter the new LFP business." The company explained, "Our strategy is to expand customer choice by adding LFP products, which are mid- to low-priced, to our product portfolio, in addition to high-value-added high-nickel products that domestic secondary battery materials companies have mainly focused on."
L&F also explained that it has been preparing LFP products in recent years to diversify its product portfolio, and that inquiries from customers seeking non-Chinese materials have increased significantly.
Ryu Seunghun, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of L&F, stated, "Even in a challenging environment, we are making multifaceted efforts to overcome the temporary market stagnation period." He added, "Although this is a significant challenge in a market dominated by China, we decided to invest because our product competitiveness and mass production capabilities have sufficiently proven our LFP competitiveness. We will do our utmost to maximize LFP orders and profitability going forward."
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