Hanwha Solutions will issue its first overseas green bonds worth 1 billion yuan ($152.9 million) starting from Monday, the company said. The yuan-denominated bonds, with a three-year maturity, carries a rate of 3 percent and will be guaranteed 50 percent each by the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea and Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility, a trust fund of the Asian Development Bank. When swapped to the Korean won, the green bonds will offer an annual interest rate of approximately 0

Industry April 15, 2021

LG Energy Solution and General Motors will build a new electric vehicle battery plant in Tennessee, their second in the US, the US automaker’s South Korean unit confirmed Thursday. The new factory will be similar in scope and scale to their first plant, a $2.3 billion facility currently under construction in Ohio. Set for commercial operation next year, the Ohio plant is designed to churn out enough batteries for 35 gigawatt-hours per year. LG Energy Solution and GM have set up a joint

Industry April 15, 2021

LG Chem said Wednesday that it had increased its production capacity of carbon nanotubes from 500 metric tons to 1,700 tons to meet growing demand for the raw material used in electric vehicle batteries. According to South Korea’s leading petrochemical company, it has begun the commercial operation of a second carbon nanotube facility with an annual production capacity of 1,200 tons in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. “Carbon nanotubes manufactured from the plant No. 2 will be sup

Industry April 14, 2021

South Korean surveillance technology provider Hanwha Techwin on Wednesday introduced artificial intelligence-based security cameras that can detect social-distancing violations automatically. According to the security camera subsidiary under Hanwha Aerospace, the AI solution monitors whether social-distancing measures are being followed on a real time basis and send written alarms on monitors or audio alarms through speakers if it detects violations. “When users set social-distancing

Technology April 14, 2021

The dramatic reconciliation between archrivals LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation has allowed the latter to salvage its two electric vehicle battery factories in the US state of Georgia and supply batteries to Volkswagen and Ford as planned. But further challenges lie ahead, industry analysts said Monday. The two-year dispute between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation over battery technologies jeopardized the operations of the Georgia plant. This battery supply chain risk motivated majo

Industry April 12, 2021

At a commencement ceremony of the Korea Air Force Academy on March 20, 2001, late President Kim Dae-jung made a promise to the cadets, “We’ll let you cadets ride fighter jets developed by Korea.” The seed planted by Kim came to fruition two decades later. KF-21 Boramae, the country’s first prototype of a domestically developed fighter jet, was unveiled Friday at a rollout ceremony at Korea Aerospace Industries’ manufacturing facility in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang

Industry April 9, 2021

SK Innovation said Wednesday it is in talks to purchase more cathodes, one of the four key components of lithium-ion batteries, as an apparent demonstration of confidence in future orders. The prospective supply deal with South Korean cathode materials manufacturer L&F came just days before the April 11 deadline for President Joe Biden’s veto of a US trade court’s decision to sanction SKI from doing business in the US for 10 years. By law, the US president can override the US

Technology April 7, 2021

South Korea will launch a pilot study into dual-use solar farms where panels are installed above crops so as to maximize the use of limited land space while striving towards a renewable future. Hanwha Q Cells will join a consortium led by Yeungnam University to research and develop necessary systems and standardize the solar farm model. MDS, a local solar company, is also participating in the project. “Solar panels and crops can coexist because crops have limits in the amount of sunlig

Industry April 7, 2021

From legendary Studio Ghibli composer to K-pop megastar Blackpink, South Korean game companies are recruiting big names to take things up a notch for their marketing schemes. On April 1, Korean game publisher Netmarble hired composer Joe Hisaishi as a spokesperson for the company’s new game Second Country: Cross Worlds, set for release on April 14. Often linked to “Star Wars” composer John Williams, Hisaishi is the artist behind the music for Japanese animation studio&rsq

Industry April 6, 2021

South Korean electronics components maker LG Innotek said Tuesday it has launched an artificial intelligence-based patent search and analysis system that can handle a task 900 times faster than human. According to the affiliate of LG Group, the system can process 50,000 pieces of patent data in four hours, which would otherwise require five workers to work eight hours a day for 100 days. “This is possible thanks to the AI-powered automatic sentence recognition model co-developed with

Industry April 6, 2021

Lee is a 61-year-old taxi driver in Seoul. He takes pride in being able to support his two kids, who both speak four languages, and his wife, who gives piano lessons at an elementary school. But there is also something else he finds satisfaction in -- his car that runs on hydrogen. After spending his whole life working for Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts arm of Hyundai Motor Group, the retiree now drives a Nexo -- Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell powered SUV. Lee, who preferred not to give his

Industry April 5, 2021

Posco Chemical said Monday it would supply anodes to Ultium Cells, a joint venture established by LG Energy Solution and General Motors in 2019. The refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, it will provide anodes to Ultium Cells’ electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Ohio, which is set to begin the mass production of NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) batteries that contain 90 percent nickel starting this year. “Thanks

Industry April 5, 2021

From flying cars to private satellites, the paradigm of global aerospace industry is shifting faster than ever. After SpaceX ushered in the dawn of the “new space” age, private players are now making an aggressive foray into the space industry, which had been dominated by governmental agencies. At this turbulent time, Korea Aerospace Industries, the nation’s sole aircraft manufacturer, aims to capture new opportunities in order to rise as Asia’s No. 1 aerospace comp

Industry April 4, 2021

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with executives of South Korea’s leading corporations on their response to environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, issues, which have become central factors globally in measuring the sustainability of an investment or business decision. -- Ed.  One electric vehicle charger installed at a service station in Seoul generates no more than 100,000 won ($88.1) in revenue per month. After electricity bills are paid and

Industry April 4, 2021

Hanwha Systems, the affiliate spearheading Hanwha Group’s space and defense IT business, will set up its first US office, according to industry sources Friday. At its board meeting held March 23, the company decided to establish the US office within this year to add momentum to its space business. Candidate locations include Connecticut, where Hanwha Systems’ parent company Hanwha Aerospace has an office, and the state of Washington, where local satellite companies are clustered.

Industry April 2, 2021