LG Chem produces cathodes without precursors

LG Chem has announced its intention to become the first South Korean company to start mass producing cathode materials without precursors. This should not only shorten the development time, but also reduce the CO2 footprint of battery production.

According to the announcement, LG Chem’s LPF cathode materials are produced by direct calcination of customised metals without precursors, “improving power performance at low temperatures and shortening development time.” LPF is not a typo, it is not lithium iron phosphate cells with the abbreviation LFP. LPF stands for ‘LG Precursor Free’ and is therefore only the sales designation for the cathode materials without precursors.

LG Chem states that the advantages of LPF technology “eliminate the need to expand precursor production capabilities” and thus reduce the wastewater generated in precursor production as well as the CO2 footprint. However, the improvement is not precisely quantified, so it is unclear how great the advantage of the new production method actually is.

However, the South Korean company is more forthcoming on another point: LPF production is set to start in the first half of the year. The plan is to “expand LPF technology applications across new products, providing customers with differentiated, customized solutions in performance, cost and environmental sustainability.”

The cathode materials without precursors were presented at InterBattery 2025 in Seoul, the most important battery trade fair in South Korea. In addition to the LPF principle, LG Chem also presented products with ultra-high nickel content (over 95 per cent), so-called medium nickel materials with lower nickel content, high-density lithium iron phosphates (LFP) and LFP products mixed with nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM).

“We will actively target the future market with next-generation innovative materials for batteries, such as LPF cathode materials and safety solutions,” said Shin Hak-Cheol, CEO of LG Chem. “We will lead the battery materials market with our continuous technological innovations and customer-focused solutions.”

LG Chem spun off its battery production in 2020 under the name LG Energy Solution (LGES). However, LG Chem itself is still active in the production of cathode materials.

lgcorp.com