LG Chem Company Ltd, the main chemicals unit of South Korea’s LG Group, unveiled its new “LG Precursor-Free” (LPF) cathode material at the Interbattery 2025 show in Seoul this week. Interbattery is South Korea’s largest battery industry exhibition, with over 640 global companies taking part this year.
LG Chem expects to be the first South Korean company to mass produce precursor-free cathode materials, as it looks to strengthen its presence in the global battery materials market. Precursor materials are typically mixed hydroxides, such as cobalt hydroxide or lithium hydroxide. The company’s main cathode materials plant is located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
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LG Chem said its LPF cathode material is produced by directly calcining custom-designed metals without precursors, which improves power performance at low temperatures and shortens development time. This technology also eliminates the need to expand precursor production capacity, while reducing wastewater and carbon emissions.
The company plans to start mass production of LPF cathode materials in the first half of this year, with plans to expand LPF technology applications across new products – providing customers with differentiated, customized solutions in terms of performance, cost and environmental sustainability.
At the show LG Chem also introduced its flagship ultra-high nickel (95% nickel) cathode materials and a range of products and technical solutions designed to “enhance the cost-effectiveness of affordable EVs” under its “Sustainable Future, Powered by LG Chem” theme. The company also displayed its high-voltage medium-nickel high-density lithium iron phosphates (LFP) and advanced technologies such as single crystal control and advanced manufacturing systems used in its smart factories.
LG Chem said it will introduce next-generation materials, including safety solutions like Nexula™ (aerogel thermal barrier), flame barrier foams (FBF) and flame barrier sheets (FBS), which prevent or delay fires and limit thermal propagation in batteries. Additionally, new cables and housings for EV chargers, and next-generation cathode materials for dry electrode and solid-state batteries, were on display at the show.
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By GlobalDataLG Chem’s CEO, Shin Hak-Cheol, said in a statement: “We will actively target the future market with next-generation innovative materials for batteries, such as LPF cathode materials and safety solutions. We will lead the battery materials market with our continuous technological innovations and customer-focused solutions.”
