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| Representatives from LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Hanwha Group pose at the Plaza Hotel Seoul, Monday, after signing a memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in battery-related businesses. Courtesy of LGES |
By Park Jae-hyuk
LG Energy Solution (LGES) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with three Hanwha Group affiliates, Monday, to hold a dominant position in the rapidly growing U.S. energy storage system (ESS) market through joint investments in the construction of a battery production line there.
They also agreed to develop an integrated system embracing air conditioning and electronic equipment used for ESS.
Their decision was made as demand for ESSs has been increasing in order to stabilize power grids and upgrade the efficiency of electric power delivery systems, amid the recent trend of a growing reliance on renewable energy.
The U.S. power grid market is expected to grow more than nine-fold from 9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2021 to 95 GWh in 2031, in accordance with the implementation of the country's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
As a result of its collaboration with LGES, Hanwha Solutions Q Cells Division has been able to secure a stable battery supply for the U.S. power grid market, bringing it closer to its goal of becoming a leading company in not only the U.S. residential and commercial solar module market, but also in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), as well as ESS.
LGES has also secured a stable market demand in the medium to long term in the U.S. clean energy market.
The battery manufacturing unit of LG Group will also cooperate with Hanwha Corporation/Momentum specializing in providing equipment for automatizing the manufacture of batteries, solar modules, displays and vehicles.
Both companies plan to cooperate in battery manufacturing equipment.
In collaboration with Hanwha Aerospace, LGES will jointly develop special-purpose batteries for urban air mobility (UAM).
"Our partnership with Hanwha Group is expected to take the competitiveness of each company's battery-related businesses a step further," an LGES official said. "By signing this MOU with leading, like-minded energy companies, we put ourselves in the best possible position to successfully expand the influence of our solar and ESS businesses in the U.S., and we will do our very best to provide customers with comprehensive green energy solutions."
A Hanwha Group official said, "We have decided to collaborate with LGES, which has several large-scale manufacturing facilities being constructed in the U.S., to target the U.S.' ESS market, which boasts fast growth thanks to green energy policies. Our aim is to maximize synergy at home and abroad by promoting partnerships in various fields, such as battery manufacturing equipment and special-purpose batteries."
