LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES; ) is a battery company headquartered in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. LGES is one of the largest battery makers in the world alongside CATL,

Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...

, SK Innovation, and Samsung SDI.

History

LG Chem Energy Solution Business Division (1992–2020)

LG Chem started a battery business after LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo visited the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority office in 1992. After the visit, Koo brought rechargeable battery samples and began research into the emerging technology. LG Chem produced Korea's first lithium-ion battery in 1999 and began supplying automotive batteries for the Chevrolet Volt produced by

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

in the late 2000s. Later, the company became a battery supplier to global car makers, including Ford, Chrysler, Audi,

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

and SAIC Motor.

LG Energy Solution (2020–present)

In September 2020, LG Chem announced that it would spin off its battery business to cope with growing demand from global automotive manufacturers. LG Chem's battery business officially became a separate company and changed its name to LG Energy Solution Ltd. in December 2020. It subsequently undertook an IPO process to secure funds in order to increase its battery production capacity and debuted on the Korea Exchange in January 2022. In the first half of 2022, LG Energy Solution is ranked second in the world with a market share of 14 per cent according to SNE research. LG Energy Solution, 15 Oct. 2024 it has signed deals to supply batteries for Ford Motor Co.'s commercial vehicles.

Controversies

According to General Motors, manufacturing defects in batteries supplied for Chevrolet Bolt caused 13 confirmed battery fires. The faulty batteries were produced in LGES plants in South Korea and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and GM pursued reimbursement from LG. In the end, LGES and

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational major appliance and consumer electronics corporation headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG, LG Corporation, the fourth ...

agreed to pay GM up to $1.9 billion for the recalls on every car produced since 2016.

References

External links