LOTTE Chemical announced a joint venture with LOTTE Aluminium to build a manufacturing facility in Elizabethtown, Kentucky to produce 36,000 tons of cathode foil, a type of ultra-thin aluminum foil that is a core material used in EV batteries.

Cathode foil is one of the four major components of lithium-ion batteries. It supports the cathode active material that determines the capacity and voltage of the secondary battery, and at the same time serves as a passage for electrons.

Company leaders anticipate demand for the material to increase by an average of 32% annually by 2030. The Hardin County operation, located on 40 acres in the T.J. Patterson Industrial Park, will be the company’s first aluminum foil facility located in the United States and is expected to begin operation in 2025.

The project also represents continued success of Kentucky’s pilot Product Development Initiative (PDI), as the site that will be home to LOTTE was approved for $500,000 in state funding in 2020 to support infrastructure improvements.

LOTTE Aluminium and LOTTE Chemical are subsidiaries of LOTTE Group, one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea, with more than 90 business units employing more than 80,000 people. LOTTE Group was founded in 1967 and serves a broad range of industries, including hospitality, financial services, food manufacturing, entertainment, industrial chemicals and aluminum manufacturing, among others.

LOTTE Chemical, established in 1976, produces basic chemicals and advanced materials, including polymers, monomers, basic petrochemicals, construction and interior materials and water treatment membrane. Founded in 1966, LOTTE Aluminum manufactures aluminum foil, printed packaging materials and corrugated cardboard boxes, among other products.

Since June 2020, Kentucky has seen more than $8.5 billion in EV-related investments, with well over 8,000 full-time jobs announced.

In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated the transformative $5.8 billion BlueOvalSK investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. In April of this year, the Governor was joined by leadership at Envision AESC to announce a $2-billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County.