LG Energy Solution has become the first battery company to surpass 100,000 patent applications globally. LG Energy Solution said on Saturday that, as of last month, it had about 59,000 registered patents and more than 100,000 patent applications worldwide.

LG Energy Solution invested 1.33 trillion won in R&D last year, a record high, after first exceeding 1 trillion won in annual R&D spending in 2023. The company stressed that the achievement reflects more than 30 years of accumulating foundational technologies across the battery sector, from materials and electrode design to cells, packs, battery management systems (BMS) and manufacturing processes.

It also has a differentiated patent portfolio in commercialised technologies. Examples include SRS (Safety Reinforced Separator), a safety-enhanced separator that coats the separator surface with ceramic particles and a polymer binder; DLD (Double Layer Slot Die Coating), a double-layer coating first applied to anodes; and carbon nanotube (CNT) pre-dispersion technology. The company said it has recently won consecutive overseas patent lawsuits based on these technologies.

The company is also building a patent base in next-generation technologies. One example is a technology combining an LMR (lithium manganese-rich) cathode, which increases manganese content to raise energy density, with a silicon anode. It has also secured about 450 patents related to dry electrodes, a next-generation process that makes electrodes with solid powder without using organic solvents.

Han-seon Lee (이한선), executive director and head of LG Energy Solution's patent group, said, "100,000 patents are not just a number but the result of relentless R&D and challenges." He said the company will continue to accelerate future growth based on foundational technologies and "premium patents" and create a virtuous cycle in which fair compensation for technological innovation leads to new innovation.