LOTTE Chemical is speeding up efforts to upgrade its business portfolio amid a structural transition in Korea's petrochemical industry. The plan is to transform from a commodity petrochemical focus into corporations competitive in high-value specialty materials used in electric-vehicle batteries, Hydrogen Fuel Cell systems, and semiconductors.
LOTTE Chemical said on the 28th that the LOTTE Engineering & Plastics plant established in Yulchon, South Jeolla Province, began commercial production on some lines in Oct.
The plant, slated for completion in the second half of next year, is set to become the nation's largest single compound production base with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons, supplying customized high-performance materials to key industries such as mobility and IT. The company is expanding facilities so it can produce a portfolio of high-value super engineering plastics (Super EP) based on its technological capabilities.
In the battery materials business, subsidiary LOTTE Energy Materials supplies core materials to the domestic battery and energy storage system (ESS), artificial intelligence (AI), and semiconductor industries, leveraging its technology in high-end copper foil and next-generation battery materials. In particular, through the nation's only circuit foil production base, it is increasing supplies of high-value circuit foil for AI to respond to global demand shifts.
In Ulsan, joint venture LOTTE SK Enerroute began commercial operation in June of its first 20-megawatt (MW) Hydrogen Fuel Cell power plant. Four Hydrogen Fuel Cell power plants will come online sequentially through next year, supplying a cumulative 80 MW of electricity.
At the Daesan petrochemical complex, through Lotte Air Liquide Enerhy, the company completed the country's largest 450-bar high-pressure hydrogen shipping center and began commercial operation last month.
Alongside the expansion of battery materials and hydrogen energy businesses, the company is also increasing investment to strengthen its capabilities in semiconductors. It is pushing to expand production facilities at Handuk Chemical, the world's No. 1 developer and manufacturer of semiconductor developer (TMAH), which it operates as a joint venture with the Japanese corporations Tokuyama. It is adding developer production facilities on a new site of 9,800 pyeong in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, with full-scale operation slated to begin at the end of next year.
LOTTE Chemical said it is also accelerating improvements to its financial soundness. Since last year, it has reviewed domestic and overseas business sites and asset across the board, routinely streamlining inefficient businesses and focusing resources on businesses with strong future growth potential.
In addition, the company is pushing integration and reduction of naphtha cracking center (NCC) facilities centered on Daesan in South Chungcheong Province and Yeosu in South Jeolla Province. LOTTE Chemical's business reorganization plan submitted to the government in Nov., proposing the merger of the Daesan plant and HD Hyundai Chemical, is expected to receive a decision on approval next month.
A LOTTE Chemical official said, "We will play a responsible role in swiftly carrying out business reorganization in line with the government's policy direction for restructuring the petrochemical industry," adding, "Through portfolio advancement and business structure innovation, we will continue innovation activities to enhance profitability and secure competitiveness."