Korea Zinc is grouping its disparate battery material business units under one roof.
Its staff from its two subsidiaries related to the battery value chain will all be housed at the Youngpoong building in Gangnam where Korea Zinc is based, sources said.
The two companies are nickel sulfur producer KEMCO as well as KPC, its precursor joint venture with LG Chem.
The move will be completed by March at the latest, sources said.
This decision was made by chairman Choi Yun-beom to increase the synergy between the business units, they said.
KEMCO can produce 80,000 metric tonnes of nickel sulfur a year but there has been little collaboration with Korea Zinc on the matter so far.
KPC, meanwhile, is aiming to secure 20,000 metric tonnes per year in precursor production capacity with an investment of 200 billion won.
The company also plans to produce 6,000 metric tonnes per year of recycled nickel.
Choi is also looking to hire experts on these matters from chemical giant LG Chem.
The chairman has told executives that Korea Zinc’s various business units must share information precisely going forward.
Korea Zinc’s move also has to do with its competition with Youngpoong Group, its largest shareholder, which is also expanding into the battery material business.
