Lotte Energy Materials has signed a commercial agreement with the town council of Mont-roig del Camp (Tarragona) to set up a smart factory there. The Korean company will produce high-end copper foil for electric vehicle batteries at the facility, in which it will invest around 400 million euros (560 billion won).

The agreement was supported by the Catalan Trade and Investment Agency (Acció), with the new factory being scheduled to start operations in 2025. There is enough space on the 440,400 square metre site to house a production line with the capacity to manufacture 100,000 tonnes per year, although it will start off by producing 30,000 tonnes.

Future expansion
At the same time, the company also plans to access a further 500,000 square metres for the installation of a photovoltaic solar energy project to meet the factory's electricity needs and allow for future expansion of its production line.

Ways to simplify various administrative licensing procedures were discussed at the meeting, which took place in Seoul. Collaboration possibilities  were also explored with a view to obtaining subsidies, especially those within the framework of the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation, as part of its project dedicated to electric and connected vehicles (PERTE VEC).

Revitalising the local economy
Last July, Lotte Energy Materials CEO Kim Yeon-seop announced the company's growth strategies to address the expected increase in demand for copper foil, in line with the growth of the electric vehicle market. One of these involved confirming Spain as the company's European base, with the overall objective of becoming a world leader by 2028, “We want the Spanish Smart Factory to become a base for supplying high-end copper foil to the European market,” he explained.

The mayor of Mont-roig del Camp, Fran Morancho López, sees the future factory as “an important project for the manufacturing industry and the economic development of Mont-roig del Camp, and it is expected to be of great help in creating jobs and revitalising the local economy”.

Lotte took over the construction of the plant after acquiring Iljin Materials last March. The project had in fact been one of those selected in the first PERTE VEC call, which provided it with around 18 million euros in funding. Iljin Materials is also part of the Future: Fast Forward project, with which the Volkswagen Group is aiming to consolidate Spain as a European hub for electric vehicles.

^{Photo: Government of Catalonia}