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Lotte Energy Materials will build a copper foil plant in the US to supply Tesla and other customers. The company has submitted an application to the Delaware state government to begin construction next year.

Lotte Energy Materials Corp., one of South Korea's leading battery materials producers, will build a copper foil plant in the United States, The Korea Economic Daily reports. The company aims to support the growing demand for battery components from Tesla and other electric vehicle manufacturers in North America. Last week, the company filed an application with the Delaware state government to create a subsidiary in the US, the source said.

According to the information, the processing of applications usually takes two weeks. Lotte plans to start building a copper foil factory as soon as it receives approval, the source said. According to them, the company is considering Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia as environmentally friendly places to locate factories. The company is already negotiating with some state governments about possible tax incentives.

If all goes according to plan, Lotte aims to select a site for the plant by the end of this year and begin construction early next year. The initial investment for the new plant is likely to be between 700 and 800 billion won ($526 million to $601 million), they said.

Lotte is committed to taking advantage of the US Inflation Reduction Act. It provides significant benefits to EV battery cell manufacturers in North America. Lotte representatives in the region said the company recently entered into a long-term contract with Tesla to supply copper foil. The company also said that its clients asked it to build a factory in the US for closer cooperation, without naming the clients' names.

Lotte's first US copper foil plant is expected to initially have a production capacity of 30,000 tons. Then, it will be expanded according to demand, the source said. Last September, Lotte said it had developed a new ultra-high-strength electrofoil that could significantly improve the range, power, and stability of electric vehicles.

“The US market is critical to our global expansion plan,” said Lotte Energy CEO Kim in July.

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