By the end of 2021, LG Chem (Seoul / South Korea; www.lgchem.com) is planning to increase its production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by 1,200 t. The company said it is investing approximately KRW 65 bn (just under EUR 50m) in its plant in Yeosu / South Korea up to the beginning of 2021. The aim is to actively align itself to the fast growing CNT market. When the expansion has been completed, LG Chem will have a total capacity of 1,700 t/y for the conductive reinforcing materials.

Above-average growth is expected for carbon nanotubes, especially through the demand for lithium ion batteries. LG Chem estimates the growth rate at around 30% a year, which means that demand of 3,000 t in 2019 would increase to 13,000 t by 2024. One of LG Chem’s competitors in this field is Ocsial (Leudelange / Luxembourg; www.ocsial.com).

LG Chem began R&D of its own carbon nanotube technologies in 2011 and in 2013 built a 20 t pilot line. In 2014, the company developed battery material and conductive composites, and it currently holds more than 250 patents in CNT-related areas alone. With the help of the world’s largest fluidised bed reactor developed by LG Chem, the company built up an extensive production system and was able to tap the market for various CNT products, including semi-conductive layers in the sheathings of high-voltage cables.

Recently, subsidiary LG Polymers India (LGPI, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh / India; www.lgpi.co.in) hit the headlines when styrene gas escaped from a leaking tank in a polystyrene production plant in the east of India, with 12 people being killed and hundreds taken to hospital (see Plasteurope.com of 08.05.2020).