SK On orders $118 million in LFP cathodes from L&F for storage

SK On finalized supply schedules Sept. 30 under a 161.73 billion won ($118 million) cathode contract with L&F to source non-China lithium iron phosphate materials for energy storage systems.

The binding purchase commitment equals 7.51% of L&F's 2025 consolidated revenue of 2.155 trillion won ($1.58 billion). It represents SK On's first commercial purchase agreement for domestically produced lithium iron phosphate cathodes.

The transaction formalizes a preliminary memorandum signed in July 2025. Contracted deliveries run through Dec. 31, 2028, with an option to extend terms for up to three additional years through 2031 upon mutual review.

Raw Material Procurement Head Kim Sung-tan and L&F Chief Operating Officer Lee Byung-hee executed the agreement at SK On's Gwanhun Campus in central Seoul.

L&F will deliver third-generation cathode active materials engineered with a pellet density of at least 2.50 grams per cubic centimeter. Pellet density — a measure of how tightly cathode particles compress inside a battery cell to store electricity — determines volumetric energy storage.

Wholly owned subsidiary L&F Plus will manufacture the cathode powder at its newly built production center in Daegu's Dalseong Industrial Complex.

L&F spent 338 billion won ($247 million) to construct the 100,000-square-meter Daegu plant. The facility completed construction in May and shipped qualified commercial test samples on July 31.

Initial production at the site operates at an annual run-rate of 30,000 metric tons in late 2026. L&F Plus plans to double total capacity at the facility to 60,000 metric tons annually by the first half of 2027.

SK On will route the materials directly into dedicated stationary battery manufacturing lines. The company is converting 3 gigawatt-hours of its 7 gigawatt-hours of total cell capacity at its Seosan plant in South Chungcheong Province.

Equipment modifications at the Seosan facility will finish ahead of initial cell shipments scheduled for the first half of 2027, the company said.

Remaining contracted volumes will feed parallel assembly lines at SK On's manufacturing complex in Commerce, Georgia. SK On is retrofitting parts of the American site to assemble stationary cells for North American utility customers.

Demand for battery components produced outside China has accelerated under US federal subsidy guidelines. Those rules penalize utility developers that deploy grid equipment containing active battery components from foreign entities of concern.

The L&F agreement anchors a broader procurement program across South Korea's cathode sector. SK On followed the deal on Sept. 22 by signing a 1.074 trillion won ($791 million) supply contract with POSCO Future M for Georgia-bound energy storage materials.

Together, the two supply agreements commit SK On to 1.235 trillion won ($909 million) in non-China cathode inputs across the next three years.

SK On accelerated raw material procurement after winning 284 megawatts in South Korea's second centralized energy storage auction in February. That award represented 50.3% of the 565 megawatts allocated by state grid operators.

Overseas power developers have matched that domestic demand. SK On signed a multi-year battery cell supply contract in August with American storage integrator NeoVolta Power.

That order broadened an existing supply agreement executed in September 2025 with Colorado-based utility developer Flatiron Energy Development.

For L&F, the SK On transaction marks its second major domestic customer for iron-based battery chemistries. The material maker secured a 1.6 trillion won ($1.17 billion) supply contract from Samsung SDI in March.

L&F introduced a redesigned corporate identity on Sept. 18 to highlight its diversification into iron-phosphate and manganese formulations. The supplier historically generated most of its revenue from high-nickel ternary formulations.

Final financial totals under the contract may fluctuate as baseline prices move alongside global lithium chemical benchmarks, L&F said in its regulatory filing.

The regulatory filings do not state the exact pricing formula or annual delivery volume breakdowns between the Seosan and Georgia facilities. Neither company registered a new exchange filing on Sept. 30.

Commercial cell shipments from SK On's converted Seosan production line will begin in the first half of 2027.