LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical firm, said Friday it has invested $75 million to acquire a stake in US-based Piedmont Lithium Inc. for a stable supply of the key material for electric vehicle batteries.

With the equity investment, LG Chem owns about 6 percent of Piedmont common shares, LG Chem said in a statement.

LG Chem also signed a deal to receive a total of 200,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate from Piedmont's jointly-owned North American Lithium for four years from the third quarter of 2023, it said.

Piedmont holds a 25 percent stake in the NAL mine and lithium can be extracted from spodumene concentrates after roasting and acid roasting operations.

LG Chem can extract about 30,000 tons of lithium from the 200,000 tons of spodumene concentrates for the production of batteries for 500,000 EVs, the statement said.(Yonhap)