Korea To Increase EV Battery Material Production

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Korean materials giants are rushing to increase production of battery materials for EVs. Lotte Chemical plans to invest 160 billion yen to build plants for electrolytes and other materials in Korea and the U.S. LG Chem and POSCO have also announced plans to increase production. The three major Korean battery manufacturers, including LG, have active investment plans, but they are lagging their Chinese counterparts in the upstream area of battery materials. Materials companies are also increasing their supply capacity to compete with the Chinese.

Lotte Chemical, a major petrochemical company, will build a new plant for organic solvents for electrolytes in its own plant. The company will build a new factory with a total investment of 602 billion won, aiming for production by the end of 2023. The company is also considering building a plant related to electrolyte and cathode materials in Louisiana, U.S. It has begun coordination with local governments and other related parties in anticipation of starting production in 2025. The investment is expected to be in the order of 100 billion yen.

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Biodiesel Mix Increase Begins in Brazil

During its first meeting March 17, 2023, the new leadership of the National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE) approved an increase to 12% of the mandatory blend of biodiesel to diesel sold in Brazil, after April this year.

The proposal approved by the CNPE sets the addition of biodiesel in the composition of diesel to grow in April this year from the current level of 10% (B10 mixture) to 12% (B12 mixture). The content will be raised to 13% (B13 mixture) in April 2024, to 14% (B14 mixture) in April 2025 and to 15% (B15 mixture) in April 2026.

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China and South Korea Increase Investment in Indonesia

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

China and South Korea are increasing their investments in Indonesia. According to BKPM (Indonesia’s Investment Coordination Agency), China (including Hong Kong) accounted for $8.4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020, up 11% from the previous year, and South Korea accounted for $1.8 billion, up 64%.

Japan, which has been the driving force behind investment to date, has seen a clear decline of 40% to $2.6 billion. Singapore ranked first in FDI in 2020 with $9.8 billion, followed by China and Japan in second and third place, then the European Union in fourth place, and South Korea in fifth place.

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PowerTracker Summary Q3 2021: Gen-Set Sales Growth Constrained by Supply Chain Delays

Joe Zirnhelt
Joe Zirnhelt

SUMMARY: Our PowerTrackerTM survey of dealers and distributors reported that overall gen-set sales increased in Q3 2021 up 4.3% from Q2 2021 levels.  This builds on a sales increase of 6.8% in Q2 2021 and a slower start to the year of -7.4% in Q1 2021 as sales were constrained by availability and supply issues. 

This quarter’s results were based on interviews with 110 gen-set dealer and distributor respondents based in North America. The overarching theme in the third quarter was a continuation of sales growth being constrained by the availability and supply of gen-sets.  Longer lead times for dealers to receive shipments is limiting their sales – even though demand from end users remains at high levels. 

The data comes from the proprietary PowerTrackerTM series of syndicated surveys conducted each quarter by Power Systems Research. Each quarter we interview gen-set dealers and distributors and other businesses across North America to maintain a pulse on the sales channels as well as monitor the ongoing needs and plans for businesses to purchase standby gen-sets to support their business operations.

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NA Gen-Set Sales Strong in Q3 2018

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in North America climbed 6% in Q3 2018 over Q2 2018, with the focus switching from larger industrial standby’s and construction site power generation earlier in the year to residential standby sales as part of winter-preparedness.

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Gen-Set Sales Start Slow in Q1 2017

SUMMARY: Considering sales across all power ranges, gen-set sales were off to a slower start in Q1 2017, down 5.5% compared to Q4 2016 levels.  This decrease follows Q4 2016 where overall dealer reported sales were flat relative to Q3 2016 levels.

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Hurricane Effects Lift Q3 2017 Gen-Set Sales

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales experienced a sharp increase in Q3 2017 with overall sales up 21.8% over Q2 2017 levels due to demand from hurricanes Harvey and Irma.  This increase follows Q2 2017 where dealer reported sales were up 1.8% relative to Q1 2017 levels.

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NA Gen-Set Sales Climb in Q4 2020

Joe Zirnhelt
Joe Zirnhelt

SUMMARY: Our PowerTrackerTM dealer and distributor survey of 200 respondents reported that overall gen-set sales continued a positive trend in Q4 2020 up 6.3% from Q3 2020 levels.  Sales gains could have been even higher because dealers ran out of inventory. This increase follows a slow start to the year in Q1 2020 where overall dealer reported sales were down 9.8% from Q4 2019 levels followed by successive increases of 4.5% in Q2 2020 and 11.9% in Q3 2020.

Although sales were up 6.3% for the fourth quarter, the results were unique in that there was a different story depending on the fuel and power range being considered.  The quarterly sales increase was anchored by abnormally high increases for gaseous fueled units in the 10-50 kW range and moderate to large decreases in the other power ranges of gaseous fuels as well as diesel fueled sets.

The data comes from the proprietary PowerTrackerTM series of syndicated surveys conducted each quarter by Power Systems Research. A total of 500 interviews are completed each quarter with gen-set dealers and distributors and businesses across North America.

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PowerTracker™ Report: Gen-Set Sales Rebound in Q3 2020

Joe Zirnhelt
Joe Zirnhelt

SUMMARY: Our PowerTrackerTM dealer and distributor survey of 200 respondents reported that gen-set sales recovered some momentum in Q3 2020 up 11.9% from Q2 2020 levels.  This increase follows a slow start to the year in Q1 2020 where overall dealer reported sales were down 9.8% from Q4 2019 levels and Q2 2020 where we observed a quarterly increase of 4.5% over the low Q1 2020 levels.

The only part of the market that seemingly did not recover in Q3 2020 was the diesel <20 kW with -8.3% for <10 kW and -3.6% for 10-20 kW.  The remainder of diesel (>20 kW) had single digit quarterly increases across the power ranges.  The gaseous fueled gen-sets had the most significant rebound this quarter with all power ranges up to 500 kW with a greater than 10% quarterly change – helping to offset the weak first half of 2020 as concerns and shutdowns ensued over COVID-19.

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