Honam Petrochemical Corp., South Korea's No. 4 petrochemicals maker, is developing a large-capacity rechargeable battery with the aim of commercializing it within two or three years, the head of the company said Sunday.
Honam Petrochemical is developing a "Zn-Br chemical flow battery" with a generating capacity of 500 kilowatts per hour with ZBB Energy Corp., a U.S. energy storage systems provider, Chong Bum-shick said in a meeting with reporters.
A flow battery is a form of rechargeable battery in which electrolytes containing one or more dissolved electroactive species flow through an electrochemical cell that converts chemical energy
directly to electricity.
Honam Petrochemical, the chemical unit of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group, aims to secure technologies related to chemical flow batteries by next year and then establish production lines, he said.
The company is working to expand its business into electrolytes and separators of rechargeable batteries, Chong said.
KP Chemical Corp., a unit of Honam Petrochemical, is developing technologies for electrolytes, while a research institute under Honam
Petrochemical is developing technologies for battery separators.
Honam Petrochemical will also seek to merge with KP Chemical this year to sharpen its global competitive edge if minority shareholders agree to the plan, he said.
In 2009, Honam Petrochemical attempted to absorb KP Chemical but failed because minority shareholders with a total of 43 percent stake
opposed it.
Honam Petrochemical took over Lotte Daesan Petrochemical Corp. and KP Chemical in 2003 and 2004, respectively. The petrochemicals maker
merged with Lotte Daesan Petrochemical in 2009.