LF&F invests in CIS Chemical… Cooperation in LFP∙NCM battery recycling
L&F, a specialized secondary battery materials company, announced on the 29th that it has signed a strategic investment agreement with CIS Chemical to strengthen cooperation in the recycling sector. The investment signing ceremony held at the Daegu headquarters was attended by key executives including L&F CEO Heo Je-hong, CFO Ryu Seung-heon, and CPO Jang Seong-kyun, as well as officials from both companies including CIS Chemical CEO Lee Seong-oh and Vice President Kim Young-man.
This investment is a follow-up measure to the LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate)·NCM (Nickel·Cobalt·Manganese) recycling cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in May, and was pursued to solidify the strategic partnership for building a battery circular economy ecosystem and strengthening the supply chain based on recycled raw materials. Through this, L&F has secured a system to stably respond to customers’ recycling demands.
L&F will stably secure LFP·NCM post-treatment volumes based on CIS Chemical’s specialized recycling capabilities, and will be given priority allocation of LFP recycling capacity (CAPA) within 2027 to jointly respond to customers’ recycling demands. In addition, the company plans to pursue joint research and development (JDA) in core technology areas such as the development of high-purity mixed hydroxide (Clean-MHP) for cathode material cost reduction and LFP recycling and re-materialization technologies, while also expanding cooperation in national R&D projects including participation in government-funded projects.
Through this cooperation, L&F is expected to expand the use of recycled raw materials for key materials such as lithium carbonate. CIS Chemical possesses recycling technology with a lithium carbonate recovery rate of up to 98% based on its independently developed process, and has completed LFP recycling technology verification with major domestic customers. Given the limited number of companies that have commercialized LFP post-treatment in Korea, L&F plans to smoothly proceed with post-treatment business cooperation with CIS Chemical and strengthen the waste cathode material and black mass (BM) recycling business in connection with its subsidiary JH Chemical Industry (JHC).
In addition, the company plans to expand group-level synergies by promoting cooperation with subsidiary L&F Plus for LFP waste cathode material scrap processing and with SeroNics for the supply of cathode material additives (cobalt hydroxide, boric acid, etc.).
In April, the “Act on the Promotion of the Used Battery Industry and Support for Supply Chain Stabilization” passed the National Assembly plenary session, and the European Union (EU) has also mandated the use of recycled raw materials, with institutional reforms gaining momentum. As global regulations are strengthened in this manner, building a battery circular economy system is emerging as a core competitiveness. L&F plans to strengthen its circular economy-based supply chain and ESG competitiveness through this investment.
