Producer

LG Energy Solution, Ltd.

LGESHQ KR · Seoulwebsite ↗

LG Energy Solution, Ltd. (Seoul; KRX: 373220; ~KRW 25T revenue; spun off from LG Chem in 2020, IPO 2022) is one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery manufacturers with ~10% of the global consumer electronics LCO cell market. LGES produces LCO pouch cells at Ochang, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea and at Nanjing, China. Consumer electronics customers include LG Electronics (flagship G and V series smartphones, now discontinued), Google Pixel phones, and various laptop OEMs. LGES is primarily known for its EV battery business (NMC/NCMA cells for GM Ultium, Stellantis, Volkswagen, Honda) — its consumer electronics cell business is smaller and shrinking as the company prioritizes high-margin EV contracts. LGES operates a joint venture with GM (Ultium Cells LLC) building four US battery gigafactories.

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Facilities

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Goods downstream

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  • EV Battery Cells (NMC/NCMA — Ultium & OEMs)

    65%
  • Energy Storage Systems (Grid ESS)

    15%
  • Consumer Electronics & Cylindrical Cells

    15%
  • Cylindrical Cells for EV (Tesla supply)

    5%

Intelligence

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  • Did you know2023

    LG Energy Solution's battery cells serve three structurally distinct applications — electric transportation, grid electricity storage, and consumer electronics — each with different policy implications: (1) EV transportation — Ultium Cells (LGES-GM JV) cells power Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Honda electric vehicles; IRA domestic content requirements incentivize US manufacturing (LGES Spring Hill TN qualifies for 30D consumer EV tax credit); (2) Grid energy storage — LGES BESS products store renewable energy (solar and wind) for grid dispatch; utility-scale ESS is a critical enabler for renewable energy reliability in California, Texas, and other high-renewable-penetration markets; (3) Consumer electronics — Google Pixel phones and Android laptops use LGES pouch cells; consumer electronics demand is increasingly second-priority to EV and ESS in LGES's capacity allocation. The 2021 Bolt EV recall (USD 1.9B+) exposed that the same Korean EV battery manufacturer that had production issues causing fire risk in GM vehicles was simultaneously the critical supply partner for GM's entire Ultium EV platform transition — the recall amplified GM's dependency on LGES at exactly the moment GM needed maximum LGES capacity to launch 10+ Ultium vehicles.

    LG Energy Solution, Ltd.
  • Origin2023

    LG Energy Solution Ltd. was created from the battery division of LG Chem — a Korean chemical conglomerate whose origins were in PVC/plastics manufacturing (founded 1947 as Lucky Chemical Industrial Corporation, the same company that also produced Lucky toothpaste and Korea's first plastic comb). LG Chem entered battery manufacturing in 1992 following Sony's commercialization of lithium-ion technology, initially for consumer electronics (the batteries in early LG phones). Over 25 years, the battery division grew into a global business supplying EV makers, then was separated and IPO'd as LG Energy Solution in January 2022 — at the time, the second-largest IPO in Korean stock market history (raising KRW 12.75 trillion, ~USD 10.8B). The separation of LGES from LG Chem mirrored Samsung SDI's similar structure as a standalone battery company from Samsung. The LG group strategy: the same Korean industrial conglomerate that started with Lucky toothpaste and PVC pipes now spins off separate listed entities for batteries, semiconductors, and specialty chemicals — each listed stock as a 'pure play' on a different technology sector.

    LG Energy Solution, Ltd.