Strategic Alliance: Chinese and Korean Tech Giants Join Forces in Next-Generation Battery Innovation

Liyan Liquan Technology Co., Ltd. ("Liquan Technology") announced on April 10th that the company recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with South Korea's Easychem at the latter's headquarters. The partnership will focus on joint development and market expansion of dry electrode binders and all-solid-state battery materials.

According to Liquan Technology, this collaboration will combine their technical advantages in dry electrodes and specialized binder modification with Easychem's research, development, and production strengths in fine chemical materials. Together, they aim to develop next-generation dry electrode binders and solid-state battery materials. This represents a powerful alliance between Chinese and Korean enterprises in the all-solid-state battery sector.

source: Liquan Technology

About Liquan Technology

Founded in May 2019 under the leadership of CEO Xue Longjun, Liquan Technology focuses on developing the dry process technology ecosystem for new energy applications, including R&D, production, and sales of dry process products. The company is committed to creating a new ecosystem integrating core material preparation, equipment development, key process know-how, and intelligent manufacturing.

Liquan Technology's dry process technology represents one of the optimal material solutions for the industrialization of next-generation lithium-ion batteries, lithium metal batteries, hybrid solid-state electrolyte batteries, all-solid-state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and fuel cells.

The Liquan team has over fifteen years of expertise in fundamental dry process technology, with significant achievements or breakthroughs in current collector surface treatment, interface materials and modification, powder nano-adhesive materials, fullerene carbon conductive network construction, electrode pre-lithiation, powder dispersion enhancement, membrane pore-forming, electrolyte film formation, and lamination technologies.

Recent Technological Breakthrough

In December 2024, media reports indicated that Liquan Technology successfully developed the world's first carbon nanotube preparation technology and products applicable to dry electrode processes for new energy batteries. This innovation was based on the team's years of accumulated "Powder to Film" dry process technology, conductive network construction, and powder dispersion enhancement techniques.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one-dimensional quantum materials formed by rolled single or multi-layer graphene sheets. Battery manufacturers typically use CNT powders in slurries, but strong Van der Waals forces between CNTs and their high aspect ratio easily form large bundles, with nano-scale effects exacerbating agglomeration. While the non-toxic, low-carbon dry electrode process is increasingly popular in industry, CNT powder agglomeration has posed significant challenges.

To address this issue, the research team led by Xue Longjun developed proprietary CNT manufacturing and dispersion technology based on their extensive experience with powder mixing and conductive network construction. Their innovation successfully maintains small bundles of CNTs in a dispersed powder form, minimizing agglomeration. This breakthrough enables CNTs to form effective electrical connections with other materials while substantially reducing clustering, making them potential high-performance conductive materials for next-generation secondary batteries.

Liquan Technology's carbon nanotube products have passed third-party testing and can be applied to new-generation dry electrode battery products. When directly added to traditional ternary and lithium iron phosphate electrode slurries, these highly dispersed CNT powders deliver superior battery performance. Tests show that batteries using ready-to-use CNT powder achieved approximately 7% higher energy density and 30% more charge cycles compared to those using CNT slurry.

Notably, this product has already received sample certification from several renowned domestic and international battery manufacturers and has begun scaled customer validation. The dry process offers cost savings, environmental benefits, and improved electrode quality, with promising applications in all-solid-state batteries and lithium-ion battery pre-lithiation processes.

About Easychem

South Korea's Easychem is one of Korea's leading fine chemical companies and a core supplier of materials to international giants including Samsung, SK, LG, Hyundai, GM, and Volkswagen. Easychem's Functional Film Division focuses on developing advanced polymer films, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and other laminated materials. Their Advanced Materials Division develops and produces high-performance materials for multiple industries, including display, semiconductor, cosmetics, automotive, agriculture, industrial construction, electronic components, and medical applications.

source: Easychem

Easychem has successfully domesticated monodisperse nanospheres and functional PP adhesives that were previously completely import-dependent. The company continues to develop new technologies in semiconductor-related CMP forming abrasives and formaldehyde removers for construction use, earning INNO-BIZ certification and leading the field of fine chemical materials.

Outlook

Analysts believe that this cooperation between Liquan Technology and Easychem will accelerate the industrialization of dry electrode and all-solid-state battery core materials, ushering in a new era of all-solid-state batteries and driving a revolutionary transformation in energy technology. Simultaneously, this emerging industry trend will inject powerful momentum into both companies' development in related materials sectors.