A slowdown in the US EV market dealt blows to South Korea's top battery maker LG Energy Solutions' (LGES) electric vehicle (EV) battery shipments, the firm said today, as it laid out aggressive plans to push into the energy storage space.
Its EV battery shipments fell by more than 10pc, pressured by slowing EV sales at major automaker clients and more cautious inventory management, the firm said in its latest quarterly earnings results on 29 January.
Its revenue fell by 7.6pc from a year earlier to 23.7 trillion won ($16.6bn) during its 1 January-31 December 2025 financial year, with a 40pc jump in energy storage systems (ESS) battery revenue helping to cushion the blow.
Operating losses narrowed to W122bn in October-December from W226bn during the same period a year earlier, and swung sharply from a profit of W601bn a quarter earlier.
LGES now expects even more subdued EV market growth of over 10pc in 2026 following heavy US policy changes in 2025, its chief financial officer Lee Chang Sil said during the latest earnings call.
The South Korean firm expects the short-term outlook for the EV market to be dim but defended its long-term prospects because of the emergence of robots and autonomous vehicles, it said during its earnings call in response to questions by analysts. Global ESS installations are expected to outpace the EV market and grow by over 40pc in 2026, potentially taking over half of North America's battery market demand, said the firm.
Industrial electrification, climate-driven demand for cooling and heating, as well as the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres, where more intense power consumption is raising renewable energy use, are all fuelling ESS demand, Lee added.
The firm is seeking to tap on partnerships with North American grid utility customers to outperform its record-breaking orders of 90GWh in 2025. It started lithium-iron-phosphate ESS battery production in the US in 2025, having secured multiple ESS orders from US energy companies.
Firm-wide ESS capacity could almost double on the year to 60GWh in 2026, it said.
It can raise ESS capacity by unlocking over 50GWh of capacity through the repurposing of its existing EV lines, which has partly been carried out. Conversion of its idle EV capacity in Poland and joint ventures in North America for ESS production has been completed. Its Ochang lines in South Korea could contribute 5GWh if necessary, it added.
LGES held a backlog of over 300GWh for its 46 series batteries and 140GWh in cumulative ESS orders as of the end of 2025.
