L&F to Supply LG Energy Solution 1.035T Won of LFP Cathode in 2028-31

South Korean battery materials maker L&F said on Nov. 3 that it signed a contract on Nov. 2 to supply about 1.035 trillion won of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material to LG Energy Solution over four years, from 2028 to 2031.

The contract extends a relationship that, according to Seoul Economic Daily, has so far covered only high-nickel nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode. Aju Press reported, citing a regulatory filing, that the sum equals about 48% of L&F's 2025 consolidated revenue of 2.155 trillion won and rests on minimum committed volumes at recent prices. Both outlets say L&F will add new production capacity to serve the order.

L&F's chief operating officer, Lee Byung-hee, said the company would use a non-Chinese LFP supply chain to strengthen its position in North America. Seoul Economic Daily tied the push to energy storage systems (ESS) for AI data centers and to tighter US rules on prohibited foreign entities in ESS batteries and components.

For LG Energy Solution, the deal gives a Korean source for the cathode inside LFP storage cells, the part of the bill of materials that US buyers increasingly want from outside China. The 1.035 trillion won averages about 259 billion won a year over the four years, and the company has not said which of its Korean and overseas plants will take the material.

How the order compares

L&F has now signed LFP supply contracts with all three Korean cell makers. Aju Press put the Samsung SDI contract from March at about 1.6 trillion won and the SK On contract from September at about 161.7 billion won, which makes the LG Energy Solution order the second largest of the three by value.

The cathode maker is also working on the supply side. Its LFP subsidiary, L&F Plus, began mass production in late September at 30,000 tons a year, two months after a first pilot shipment, and plans 60,000 tons a year by the first half of 2027, Seoul Economic Daily said. The company is reviewing further expansion. Neither outlet gave the capacity or site of the new plant for this order.

LG Energy Solution is lining up materials from several Korean suppliers. As Voltgrid reported, POSCO Future M and LG Energy Solution signed an MOU covering 720,000 tons of cathode and anode materials from 2027 to 2033, with LFP cathode starting in early 2027. The cell maker also aims to supply 2 GWh of storage with Energix under a non-binding MOU, the kind of project demand these cathode contracts are meant to feed.

What is not confirmed yet

The new plant's location, its annual tonnage, the start of construction and the price per ton have not been disclosed in the reports Voltgrid read. Because the 1.035 trillion won is a minimum committed amount, actual purchases could be higher, and the sources do not say whether the contract can be adjusted for material prices.

Dollar equivalents differ by outlet, from about $710 million to about $774 million, depending on the exchange rate used, so the won figure is the one to rely on. The reports give no gigawatt-hour figure for the LFP cells the material would support.