Lotte Aluminium said Monday it has increased the production capacity of its cathode foil plant in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province in response to growing demand for electric vehicle batteries.

According to the South Korean packaging material company, it injected 28 billion won ($23.7 million) into the cathode foil plant to increase the capacity to 12,000 metric tons.

Lithium-ion batteries consist of four key components -- cathodes, anodes, electrolytes and separators. Cathode foils cover the cathodes, serving as a path through which electrons generated from cathode active materials travel. With high heat conductivity, cathode foils allow batteries to release the heat generated from inside to the outside.

“To take initiative in the cathode foil market where demand has recently spiked thanks to EVs, we will continuously expand the production capacity at home and abroad,” Lotte Chemical’s business unit leader Kim Gyo-hyun said.

Since April, Lotte Aluminium has begun the construction of a cathode foil plant at a 60,000-square-meter site in Tatabánya industrial complex in Hungary. Set for completion in 2021, the 110-biillion-won plant will offer annual production capacity of 18,000 tons.

Lotte Aluminium is expected to sell the cathode foils to Korean EV battery makers.

In Europe, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI run EV battery plants in Hungary, while LG Chem’s plants are located in Poland.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)