Move is part of plan to grow electronic materials business to 2 trillion won by 2030; LG Chem holds 80% global market share in memory chip CCL segment; company also eyeing non-memory substrate market dominated by Japanese firms

A copper-clad laminate produced by LG Chem. [LG Chem website]
A copper-clad laminate produced by LG Chem. [LG Chem website]

LG Chem is moving to expand its copper-clad laminate (CCL) production capacity to capitalize on the AI supercycle. The scale-up is expected to accelerate the company's broader strategy to grow its electronic materials business to 2 trillion won (about $1.3 billion) by 2030.

Industry sources said Monday that LG Chem recently began discussions on expanding its CCL production lines. Multiple options are under consideration, including building new lines at its existing CCL factory in Cheongju. Industry observers estimate the company's current annual CCL output at less than 200 billion won. "We are continuing various discussions related to the expansion, but nothing has been decided," an LG Chem official said.

LG Chem posted weak earnings through last year as a supply glut from China weighed on its petrochemical business. The company staged a partial recovery in the first quarter of this year, aided by a lagging effect on raw material costs stemming from the Middle East war, but analysts widely expect operating profit to soften again in the second half. Oil prices are stabilizing amid cease-fire negotiations, raising the likelihood of a reverse-lagging effect.

The decision to press ahead with expansion despite those headwinds aligns with LG Chem's strategy to build up its advanced materials business. In March, the company announced plans to double its electronic materials business — currently valued at around 1 trillion won — to 2 trillion won by 2030. CCL is one of its flagship electronic materials products.

The move is also a direct response to the AI supercycle. Surging semiconductor demand driven by AI market growth has brought a growing number of customers seeking CCL, a key input material. Market research firm Fortune Business Insights projects the global CCL market will grow at an average annual rate of 5.4%, rising from $20.55 billion (about 32 trillion won) last year to $32.95 billion (about 51 trillion won) by 2034.

LG Chem has concluded that expanding CCL capacity could generate substantial returns given current AI market momentum. Its technological credentials are already well established: LG Chem's CCL holds an 80% share of the global market for DDR5 memory chips used in PCs and servers.

The company is not stopping at capacity expansion. LG Chem also plans to accelerate efforts to strengthen its CCL technology, including preparing to enter the non-memory substrate market — a segment currently dominated by Japanese firms — beyond its existing memory semiconductor footprint.

If LG Chem continues to grow its CCL business, direct competition with Doosan appears inevitable. Doosan's electronics business group began supplying CCL to Nvidia in late 2024, fueling rapid growth. As a result, Doosan's electronics unit crossed the 1 trillion won sales threshold for the first time in 2024, then posted sales of 1,875.7 billion won last year — an 86 percent increase from the prior year. Securities industry analysts expect Doosan's electronics unit to exceed 2 trillion won in sales this year.


yeongdai@heraldcorp.com