LG Energy Solution Ltd., South Korea’s top battery manufacturer, announced that it will begin domestic production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) in 2027.
The plan was unveiled on November 17 during a meeting with North Chungcheong provincial officials at the company’s Ochang plant in Chungju, located 147 kilometers south of Seoul.
Construction of the new LFP production facility at the Ochang site is scheduled to start this year. The initial production line will have a capacity of 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) and is designed for scalable expansion based on market demand. LFP batteries are a variant of lithium-ion technology known for their enhanced safety profile and comparatively lower manufacturing costs than nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells.
Currently, LG Energy Solution manufactures LFP batteries in facilities located in China and the United States. Establishing a domestic production line in South Korea is expected to strengthen the country’s ESS supply chain and support regional efforts to build a comprehensive battery ecosystem.
According to data from industry tracker SNE Research, LFP batteries account for roughly 90 percent of the global ESS market. This dominance is driven by the growing need for reliable energy storage solutions to balance renewable energy generation and enhance grid stability.
“The production of LFP batteries for ESS at the Ochang plant will become the starting point for a bigger challenge and leap for South Korea’s ESS ecosystem,” Kim Hyung-sik, head of LG Energy Solution’s ESS battery division, said in a release.
By expanding its LFP battery footprint domestically, LG Energy Solution is positioning itself to capture rising ESS demand both at home and abroad. The move aligns with the broader industry trend of diversifying battery chemistries to meet safety, cost, and performance targets in stationary energy storage applications.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
