LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical company, opened a research and development center in Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 27. The Europe Innovation Center aims to strengthen LG Chem’s decarbonization efforts in Europe.
“The Europe Innovation Center will focus on advancing green technologies, including next-generation battery materials, biomaterials, and plastic recycling,” the company said in a statement. LG Chem is exploring partnerships with leading research institutions and universities in Europe, such as the Fraunhofer Institute, the Julich Institute, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
The Europe Innovation Center is LG Chem’s third overseas R&D center. LG Chem has two R&D centers in the U.S. LG Chem plans to develop the center in Frankfurt into the European hub for R&D and talent acquisition and aims to expand its R&D workforce in the European Union to over 40 by 2028.
Establishing a European R&D center reflects LG Chem’s commitment to aligning with the EU’s environmental regulations. The EU, known for progressive environmental policies, is mandating substantial reductions in plastic packaging waste starting this year, with a ban on single-use plastic packaging for items such as fruit by 2030. Additionally, under the new battery law, the scale of waste batteries is expected to grow from 4 GWh in 2025 to about 200 GWh by 2040, a nearly 50-fold increase.
