LG Energy Solution is planning to build its most advanced battery production line yet at its Ochang factory, TheElec has learned.
It is its seventh pilot line at the factory and will be completed in October.
The line will use smart factory technologies and manufacture pouch batteries, sources said.
Though it is a pilot line, it is being designed so that it can be converted into a mass production line if market demand for batteries improves, they said.
The previous six lines had ten to 15 operators on each line but this number is also to drop thanks to the new line’s smart factory technologies.
The seventh pilot line, internally called Pilot 7 Line, will be used to set equipment and machine standards, secure related IPs, and maintenance expertise for future production lines.
Some of the used equipment from its factory in Nanjing is also being delivered and installed at the new line in Ochang to save on cost.
LG Energy Solution’s existing production lines relied on experience and operators which determined the yield rate and the company wants to reduce its reliance on these staff. Securing skilled operators and fostering them has been a huge challenge for the South Korean battery maker.
Ochang factory is its so-called mother factory where core technologies and production processes are developed.
LG Energy Solution is spending a total of 600 billion won to beef up Ochang this way.
