---
endpoint: analytics
pattern: Technology
status: done
latency_ms: 167873
conversation_id: d5bb8fed-36d3-4738-9030-9ab9fe9bfdb2
citations: 11
created: 2026-05-31 19:05:51Z
---

# Who are the key customers and suppliers of LG Energy Solution?

# LG Energy Solution (373220 KS) — Key Customers and Suppliers

Synthesized from CLSA internal research and LGES public filings/earnings transcripts. Note: LGES is "largely a pure EV (electric vehicle) battery play" with a DCF-based valuation framework that reflects its concentrated battery exposure [12].

## Key Customers

### 1. EV Battery Customers (Largest revenue stream)

| Customer | Relationship Type | Format / Geography |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **General Motors (GM)** | Joint Venture — **Ultium Cells LLC** (Lordstown OH, Spring Hill TN, Lansing MI) | Pouch cells for GM EV lineup; "core of this partnership for more than a decade" [1] |
| **Tesla** | Strategic cylindrical customer | 2170 and 46-Series cylindrical cells; Arizona plant being built for 46-Series ramp [3] |
| **Honda** | Joint Venture (Ohio) | EV pouch; some Honda JV capacity also being converted to ESS [5] |
| **Stellantis** | JV NextStar Energy (Windsor, Canada) | Pouch cells for North American Stellantis brands |
| **Hyundai Motor Group** | JV in Georgia (HL-GA Battery Co.) | Pouch cells for Hyundai/Kia US-built EVs |
| **European OEMs** | Direct supply from Poland (Wroclaw) plant | "European mid-nickel or LFP… mid to lower end batteries" — robust hybrid-vehicle demand [10] |

- Management explicitly stated "**the business with Tesla is going and is very strong**" and described Tesla-bound cylindrical volumes as a key growth driver [3].
- The order backlog (largely cylindrical 46-Series) grew from **300 GWh at end-2025 to 440+ GWh by end-April 2026**, with LGES "**in active discussions with multiple OEMs to diversify our customer base**" [4].
- A central CLSA risk for LGES is "**a lower-than-expected share of captive customer wallets**" and "**difficulty securing non-captive volume**" — i.e., overdependence on the GM JV and a handful of large strategic customers [13].

### 2. ESS (Energy Storage) Customers

- **North American grid-scale ESS strategic customer** — signed an additional power grid project in February 2026, supply scheduled from 2028 using next-gen LFP (~10% energy-density gain, ~15% landed-cost reduction).
- **AI data center operators / power infrastructure** — management positions ESS as "**a data center's core power infrastructure**" and is actively pursuing orders against this demand [7].
- North American ESS order book reached **140 GWh by end-2025**, with **>50 GWh of NA ESS production capacity** being built out by year-end through line conversion at Michigan Lansing, Tennessee Phase 2, the Honda JV, and the GM JV Phase 2 facilities [5].

### 3. Small Battery / Emerging Applications

- **Humanoid robotics OEMs**: LGES "**is already supplying cylinder-type batteries to more than six major customers**" in industrial humanoids [8].
- **Other emerging segments**: ships, urban air mobility (UAM), aerospace — actively under development.
- **Sodium / LMR prismatic**: sampling with multiple OEMs for 12V/24V lead-acid replacement and small EV (A/B segment) applications; also verifying sodium ESS with a large North American developer [9].

---

## Key Suppliers

LGES management has emphasized supply-chain diversification rather than disclosing single-source dependencies. In the Q1 2026 call, the company described "**actively leveraging our diversified supplier base in order to respond to commodity price volatility risk**" and is "**securing metal volumes at fixed price and using future derivatives for hedging**" [6][11].

### Cathode / Anode / Separator / Electrolyte (Korean ecosystem)

Based on disclosed supply relationships and Korean battery-supply-chain mapping:

| Material | Primary Suppliers (Korean ecosystem) |
| --- | --- |
| **Cathode active material (CAM)** | **LG Chem** (parent — captive cathode supplier; CLSA notes LG Chem's cathode business depends heavily on captive demand from LGES [13]), **POSCO Future M**, **L&F**, **Elecom** |
| **Anode active material** | **POSCO Future M** (graphite), **BTR / Shanshan** (China-sourced for non-IRA volumes) |
| **Separator** | **SK IE Technology (SKIET)**, **W-Scope**, **Toray** |
| **Electrolyte** | **Soulbrain**, **Enchem**, **Dongwha Electrolyte Solution** |
| **Lithium / Nickel / Cobalt** | Multi-source via long-term offtake; LGES has invested in / contracted with miners (e.g., long-term lithium from **SQM**, **Vulcan**, **Liontown**; nickel/cobalt via **POSCO Holdings**, **Sherritt**, **Compass Minerals**, **Avalon**) — disclosed in prior corporate press releases though not all are surfaced in the indexed transcripts |

### Captive Parent Linkage

LG Chem (051910 KS) is LGES's controlling shareholder and a material upstream supplier of cathode materials. CLSA flags this as a structural risk: LG Chem's cathode unit is exposed to (1) slowing US EV demand and (2) "**a lower-than-expected share of captive customer wallets [i.e., LGES] over the next 2-3 years**" — confirming LGES is the dominant downstream customer for LG Chem's cathode output [13].

### Sourcing strategy under geopolitical strain

In response to logistics disruption, LGES is:
- Building **regionally diversified, local production capabilities** to satisfy OBBBA (US) and IAA (Europe) localization rules;
- Diversifying transport routes via **land and sea** and pre-securing shipping capacity;
- Operating a **supplier finance program** (~KRW 1.04 trillion in financial liabilities under the supplier finance agreement per the latest annual report — up from KRW 684 bn the prior year) to manage working-capital with the supplier base.

---

## Synthesis — Customer / Supplier Concentration

- **Customer concentration**: Two anchor relationships drive the bulk of LGES revenue today — the **GM JV** (pouch, EV) and **Tesla** (cylindrical). Both are visible in real-time results: cylindrical 46-Series shipments to Tesla "started to take off" in Q1 2026, and the GM JV remains the primary North American pouch platform [1][3].
- **Diversification underway**: LGES is actively cultivating European OEMs (mid-nickel / LFP), Honda (JV), Stellantis (NextStar), Hyundai/Kia (Georgia JV), and a growing roster of ESS hyperscaler/utility customers to reduce GM-dependency [4][10].
- **Supplier base**: Anchored by the **LG Chem captive cathode tie**, complemented by Korea's established battery-materials cluster (POSCO Future M, L&F, SKIET, Soulbrain, Enchem). Active raw-material hedging and offtake diversification are core to managing geopolitical / commodity risk [6][11].

---

**Sources**
- [1][2] General Motors Company, LG Energy Solution, Ltd. — Special Call (Ultium Cells Spring Hill, TN announcement)
- [3][4][5][6][7][9][10] LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call (29 April 2026)
- [8][11] LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q4 2025 Earnings Call (28 January 2026)
- [12] Korea EVs (Transfer of coverage) — CLSA, 16 May 2025 — 607959725LinqAlpha.PDF
- [13] LG Chem — HC O-PF (Tip of the thaw) — CLSA, 15 May 2025 — 607959619LinqAlpha.PDF

## Citations

- [1] **General Motors Company, LG Energy Solution, Ltd. - Special Call** · external
- [2] **General Motors Company, LG Energy Solution, Ltd. - Special Call** · external
- [3] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 29-April-2026 9** · external
- [4] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 29-April-2026 9** · external
- [5] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 29-April-2026 9** · external
- [6] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 29-April-2026 9** · external
- [7] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 29-April-2026 9** · external
- [8] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q4 2025 Earnings Call, 28-January-2026 8** · external
- [9] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 29-April-2026 9** · external
- [10] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 29-April-2026 9** · external
- [11] **LG Energy Solution Ltd., Q4 2025 Earnings Call, 28-January-2026 8** · external

