LS MnM plans to invest 1.16 trillion won ($897.14 million) to build a new plant for secondary battery materials in Saemangeum.
On November 29, LS MnM announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to invest in the construction of a production facility for high-purity metal compounds for secondary batteries. The agreement was made in cooperation with the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency, Jeolla Province, Gunsan City and the Korea Rural Community Corporation. High purity metal compounds refer to the precursor materials necessary for the production of cathode materials for secondary batteries.
LS MnM will begin construction of a high-purity metal compound production facility in March 2026 in Section 5 of the Saemang Metal Industrial Complex, covering an area of 206,728 square meters, with production scheduled to begin in 2029. The company aims to produce key materials for secondary battery positives, including 40,000 tons of nickel sulfate, based on metallic nickel, manganese sulfate, cobalt sulfate and lithium hydroxide. The program has enough mass production capacity to supply 800,000 electric vehicles.
Earlier, LS Group signed a comprehensive investment agreement worth 1.84 trillion won ($1.42 billion) in Saemangeum in August. The investment agreement recently signed by LS MnM is the second phase of investment after LS Group's initial commitment to invest 1.05 trillion won for the first phase of LS Energy and LS Power Solution. The new agreement represents an increase of 370 billion won from the original plan. As a result, LS Group s total investment in the Saemangeum Industrial Complex will increase from 1.84 trillion won to 2.21 trillion won.
