Lotte Chemical turns to high-value mobility materials for future growth

(Lotte Chemical Corp.)

Lotte Chemical Corp. is focusing on advanced mobility materials for electric vehicles (EVs) and battery components as new growth engines beyond its traditional petrochemical business.

Maeil Business Newspaper recently visited the company‘s advanced materials research center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, where 800 researchers are developing high-value specialty materials.

Despite its stronghold in high-value synthetic resins and paint-free materials, Lotte Chemical is shifting its focus due to a downturn in the petrochemical market and oversupply from Chinese competitors.

Among its flagship specialty products is a high-strength, flame-resistant plastic designed to delay thermal runaway in EVs - a response to rising concerns over battery fires.

Lotte Chemical has differentiated itself by supplying short and long glass fiber-reinforced materials, known for enhanced strength and flame resistance, to battery component manufacturers to slow fire spread.

The company is also working on high-strength, lightweight plastics, aiming to match the performance of conventional automotive steel while significantly reducing weight.

Leveraging its experience in materials for home appliances and information technology products, Lotte Chemical is now applying this expertise to develop diverse solutions for mobility applications.

Chinese competitors’ oversupply of generic petrochemical products has prompted Lotte Chemical to prioritize high-value materials.

“General petrochemical products are important, but they are vulnerable to external risks like raw material price fluctuations,” said the company’s Managing Director Park Kang-yeol. “The next-generation mobility specialty business offers more stability through internal efforts such as material differentiation and quality enhancement.”

A key competitive edge for Lotte Chemical lies in its accelerated certification process for flame-resistant materials, which are certified by global body UL Solutions.

The company, the first in Asia to partner with UL, conducts internal first-stage certification widely accepted by UL, reducing certification times from up to three years.

Lotte Chemical’s mobility-related chemical product sales hit a record high of 1.1 trillion won ($785 million) last year. The company aims to double this to 2 trillion won by 2030.