Hanwha Chemical's Newest Business Venture Plugs into the Future of Electric Vehicles

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Hanwha Chemical Corporation (SEO:009830) (Seoul, South Korea), which is known for being South Korea's leading polyvinyl chloride manufacturer, is about to join the lithium-ion battery (LiB) race. Though not participating as a battery manufacturer, Hanwha Chemical will focus on the production of cathode material.

Up until now, Korea has depended heavily on China for resources in regard to LiBs; however, in an effort to become more self-sufficient, Korea is taking steps to boost materials production to supply the domestic needs of the industry. The company also will begin producing nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes.

Several types of LiB exist, but Hanwha Chemical is skipping straight to the newest and most promising. According to Hanwha Chemical, cathode material must have high discharge, capacity and output, and possess a long lifecycle, all at a low cost. Utilizing the self-developed Supercritical Hydrothermal Synthesis technology, based on supercritical water oxidation, Hanwha Chemical has successfully patented its own lithium-ion battery iron phosphate cathode material as of January this year. Due to iron phosphate's low conductivity in comparison to other existing cathode materials, a carbon coating is added to increase electrical conductivity and improve the overall performance of the battery.

Due to the success of its research and development, as well as the registration of the iron phosphate cathode material patent earlier in the year, Hanwha Chemical is getting ready for commercial-scale production. The company plans to begin construction of a $210 million grassroot cathode material facility sometime during the fourth quarter of this year in Ulju County of Ulsan in Korea, some 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul. When up and running early next year, Hanwha Chemical is expecting to produce 600 million tons of iron phosphate cathode material annually, in order to aid in the domestic increase of LiB materials. Cathode material produced in Ulju will be supplied to vendors that deal in the development of LiB for the use in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles.

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