LG Chem has signed a multi-year agreement worth around €2.2 billion to supply cathode materials for electric vehicles in the United States, the company said, without naming the customer. Multiple industry reports, however, suggest the buyer is likely Panasonic.
The deal, valued at 3.76 trillion won, covers deliveries from 15 November 2025 through 31 July 2029. LG Chem said the materials will be used in EV batteries produced in the U.S., but declined to specify volumes included in the contract.
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The South Korean supplier has built significant manufacturing capacity for cathode materials, producing 150,000 tonnes annually. Of that, 100,000 tonnes come from its plants in Cheongju and Gumi, while 50,000 tonnes originate from Wuxi, China. A new factory in Tennessee is scheduled to begin operations in 2026 with an additional 60,000-tonne annual capacity.
Industry sources say Panasonic is the likely customer. The Elec reported that “the cathodes supplied to Panasonic will probably be used for Tesla batteries,” referencing the Japanese company’s long-standing relationship with Tesla. LG Chem already supplies cathode materials to Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, a Toyota–Panasonic joint venture.
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Panasonic recently opened a new U.S. plant producing cylindrical EV cells in De Soto, Kansas—its second American facility. The site has begun series production of 2170-format cells, a type widely used by Tesla in certain versions of the Model 3 and Model Y. Panasonic also manufactures the same round cells at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, operated jointly with Tesla.
The company is pursuing a dual-region strategy spanning Japan and North America and plans to introduce cells incorporating new materials to boost capacity by around five percent. Panasonic has already secured silicon anodes from Nexeon to support these efforts. The company’s current lithium-ion cells achieve a volumetric energy density of 800 Wh/L.