OCI makes foray into battery materials market

South Korea's chemical and green energy company OCI has entered the battery materials market by landing a supply contract for key raw materials for silicon cathode substances.

This is part of a strategy to secure future growth engines using funds earned from OCI’s chemical business.

OCI on Wednesday said it signed a five-year deal to supply 70 billion won ($54.9 million) worth of monosilane (SiH4), a key raw material for silicon cathode materials, to the British silicon cathode materials company Nexeon from 2025. Both sides will discuss additional supply according to market demand.

OCI will invest 20 billion won in its plant in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, to build a monosilane line with annual capacity of 1,000 tons by the first half of 2025. Nexeon, which recently landed an order to supply silicon cathode materials to Panasonic of Japan, will buy land around the facility for construction of a silicon cathode materials plant.

Silicon-based cathode materials, which are deemed next-generation cathode substances, can greatly boost energy capacity and density compared to graphite cathode materials. First-generation silicon cathode materials containing 5%-10% silicon have recently been commercialized. 

Nexeon possesses second-generation silicon cathode material technology whose silicon content exceeds 10%. OCI said this can improve the energy density of batteries up to 50%.

“We will actively invest to take the lead in the battery materials sector,” OCI President Kim Yoo-Shin said.

Competition among battery companies is heating up to get an early jump on the silicon cathode materials market. Lotte Energy Materials recently invested in the French silicon cathode materials company Enwires and will start mass production from 2027.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com