South Korea’s Iljin Materials Co. began commercial production of new copper foil that would dramatically improve electric vehicle (EV)’s driving distance and power.

Iljin Materials said on Wednesday that it started mass producing copper foil ‘I2S’ that would bump up the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries and enable EVs to drive longer and faster.

Copper foil is thin material used as the negative electrode for the anode current collector of large-sized rechargeable batteries like those used in electric cars and energy storage systems. It is one of the core materials for rechargeable batteries. There has not been copper foil that can withstand extremely high pressure and temperature produced from high-capacity, high-voltage batteries until now.

ljin Materials was able to master the I2S that can endure high pressure as well as high heat after eight years of development, said an Iljin Materials official.

The company hopes the new copper foil will fuel 50 percent growth in sales and improve overall profitability from next year.

Shares of Iljin Materials closed Thursday at 39,300 won ($34.56), down 200 won or 0.51 percent from the previous session.

By Jin Young-tae

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]