The Three Core R&D Innovation Strategies
Development of battery technology for customer value innovation
Development of unparalleled battery materials and process technology
Development of next-generation battery technology
In addition, LG Energy Solution seeks to contribute to a sustainable future by providing eco-friendly and competitive solutions, such as minimizing the environmental impacts during the entire battery manufacturing process, ranging from the extraction of battery raw materials to the manufacturing of parts and cells. We also contribute to the creation of a circular battery ecosystem by developing technologies for reusing and recycling end-of-life batteries.
LG Energy Solution is making efforts to secure raw materials that are sourced in an environmentally friendly manner. For instance, we are investing in leading companies that use technologies and methods that minimize adverse environmental impacts of sourcing metals, the core material of batteries.
닫기Based on accumulated core technologies and intellectual property rights, LG Energy Solution strives to make next-generation batteries in a much eco-friendly manner. We have a variety of patents that can ensure and promote eco-friendliness of our batteries, including on the product design that minimizes the use of conflict minerals, and that is easier to recycle, and technology to recycle rare metals. LG Energy Solution will continue the efforts to drive the transition to the sustainable future through active and continuous investments.
닫기LG Energy Solution aims to achieve RE100/EV100 in 2030. To maximize energy efficiency, we use energy management systems at each site to track energy use and set goals for reducing it. In addition, we plan to introduce and apply new technologies for energy savings at each business site through the department in charge of carbon-neutral technology, including the installation of high-efficiency equipment and improvement of process efficiency.
닫기During the period 2009-2021, automotive batteries produced by LG Energy Solution were applied in a total of about 7.4 million electric vehicles, including 1.88 million BEVs. LG Energy Solution provides ecofriendly solutions for electrification of various transportation means, such as electric buses, trucks, ships, and multi-purpose leisure vehicles, as well as passenger cars, and thereby seeks to take the lead in tackling climate change. We also strive to make our sales and use process greener by packaging products for shipping in designs that are easy to reuse, which helps reduce waste that may occur in the procurement process.
닫기As a rapid increase in the volume of end-of-life batteries is projected in the near future, LG Energy Solution is building a closed-loop system in each manufacturing plant through which non-reusable batteries and scraps generated during production are recycled; and the extracted materials are reinjected into the production stage. In addition, we are establishing end-of-life batteries collection system based on strategic partnership with leading recyclers. Through collaboration with regional partners, LG Energy Solution seeks to prepare for the compliance with various regulations, such as a requirement on the level of recycled content, and provide the best solution for our customers’ needs.
닫기LG Energy Solution continues to develop technologies to build a variety of business models for battery reuse, including as energy storage system (ESS). Further, by promoting the Battery as a Service (BaaS) business, we are creating new values of batteries and building a second-life battery ecosystem.
닫기Ensuring Product Stewardship
With increasingly stringent product and environmental regulations at national level, it has become all the more important to identify and manage chemicals in products and ensure the required level of environmental friendliness. LG Energy Solution is a global company that leads the future of the energy industry through our battery business, which will be integral to the upcoming era of green energy. We have grave responsibility for the health, safety, environmental and social impacts of our products and are thus fully committed to minimizing adverse impacts.
We limit harmful substances below the regulatory level in the respective country to minimize their adverse impacts on the environment and public health and to provide our customers with green and competitive solutions. We are operating a product stewardship process to continuously monitor and manage in compliance with evolving product and environmental regulations; and providing a guideline for suppliers to manage supply chains in an environmentally friendly manner. As such, LG Energy Solution ensures eco-friendliness of all chemicals from the purchase of raw materials to production and sales and strictly manages the environmental hazards of materials and products.
Further, we strive to quantify environmental performances of products through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and transparently disclose reliable information through third-party verification
CHARMs
2.0
With a view to ensuring compliance with product and environmental regulations and strengthening product safety, LG Energy Solution operates CHARMs 2.0 (Chemical Assurance and Regulation Management System) to strictly manage environmental hazards throughout the entire process – from raw materials purchase and warehousing to use and disposal. Through CHARMs 2.0, we aim to manage any compliance risk in a preemptive manner by thoroughly reviewing chemical compositions and compliance assurance of each and every raw material as well as information on any environmental hazard and related legal response before making orders from suppliers.
Environmental
Regulations
Monitoring
LG Energy Solution constantly examines and monitors environmental laws, regulations, and relevant accident cases in the countries and regions we operate. Relevant regulations include the “Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances,” the “Chemical Substances Control Act,” and the “Occupational Safety and Health Act” in Korea, REACH, SVHC, RoHS, and SCIP in the European Union and TSCA in the United States. LG Energy Solution preemptively responds to chemical regulations in the conduct of its global business to minimize any associated risks.
LCA
Life-Cycle Assessment, or LCA, is an integrated methodology for assessing environmental impacts by analyzing an inventory of the energy and materials required in all stages of the product life cycle (cradle-to-grave) from raw material extraction processing, manufacturing, assembly, transportation, use, to recycling or disposal, and calculating the corresponding emissions to air, water, land, etc. LG Energy Solution has been conducting LCA since 2019. While we communicate with external stakeholders, including customers, the information on environmental impacts of our products, the results also serve as an important criterion and tool to measure the product carbon intensity, identify hotspots (i.e. the most relevant drivers of the assessed impacts), and establish mid- to long-term strategies to achieve carbon neutrality.
EPD
Environmental Product Declaration, or EPD, is a certification program through which the information on the environmental performance of the product – atmospheric emissions, resource uses, water emissions and land emissions, and other releases – is reported, verified by a third party, registered and displayed on the product based on the results of the LCA study. Through EPD certification, LG Energy Solution is committed to measuring and reducing the environmental impacts of its products and keen to communicate with customers the information in a transparent manner.