Hydro Lithium

Hydro Lithium was established in 1995 as a Korea-Japan joint venture producing SEEE-method civil engineering materials such as caisson lifting hooks, tie cables, permanent anchors, and reinforced retaining-wall systems, and listed on KOSDAQ in 2008.

In October 2022, it was acquired by Lithium Plus, renamed Hydro Lithium, and added battery materials manufacturing and sales, waste battery recycling, and mineral resource development to its business scope.

According to its 2025 annual report, the previously core construction-related businesses—permanent anchors, slope reinforcement, bridge cables, and real estate development—ceased operations during the year.

The company's core business is now ultra-high-purity lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, key secondary battery materials produced at its plant in Geumsan, Chungcheongnam-do, and the plant's designation as the 'Geumsan Lithium General Industrial Complex' in December 2025 improved operating conditions.

The company has stated that battery-grade lithium hydroxide produced at the Geumsan plant is sold to secondary battery materials manufacturers, solid-state battery materials manufacturers, and domestic lithium grease producers, with some volume exported to Japan.

In April 2025, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy confirmed the company's status as a 'Supply Chain Stabilization Leading Enterprise' for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, placing it among firms eligible for policy support.

Together with affiliates Lithium Plus and Lithium Force, the company is pursuing construction of battery-grade lithium hydroxide and high-purity lithium carbonate plants in the Saemangeum national industrial complex, aiming to build a value chain that extracts lithium from waste battery materials.

In terms of competitive positioning, larger, better-capitalized rivals such as EDL, the Enchem-Joongang Advanced Materials joint venture, are simultaneously expanding lithium salt capacity in Saemangeum and elsewhere, meaning cost and quality competitiveness will be key to Hydro Lithium's relatively small-scale operations going forward.

Hydro Lithium's consolidated revenue rose from KRW 11.48 billion in 2022 to KRW 22.86 billion in 2023, then fell sharply for two consecutive years to KRW 8.47 billion in 2024 and KRW 3.37 billion in 2025.

On the profit side, 2023 saw the largest losses, with an operating loss of KRW 35.8 billion and a net loss of KRW 40.6 billion; in 2024, despite lower revenue, operating income turned positive at KRW 9.1 billion—a figure exceeding revenue itself, suggesting one-off items rather than core profitability—while the net loss still reached KRW 17.7 billion.

In 2025, losses widened again to an operating loss of KRW 15.1 billion and a net loss of KRW 34.7 billion, showing no clear improvement.

By quarter, revenue was KRW 660 million with an operating loss of KRW 3.0 billion and a net loss attributable to owners of KRW 2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2025, followed by KRW 576 million in revenue and a KRW 4.6 billion operating loss in the fourth quarter, though net income briefly turned positive at KRW 695 million.

In the first quarter of 2026, revenue edged up to KRW 952 million, yet the net loss attributable to owners jumped to KRW 34.2 billion, an unusually large figure compared with prior quarters.

Second-quarter 2026 revenue rose again slightly to KRW 1.07 billion, but an operating loss of KRW 3.4 billion and a net loss of KRW 4.1 billion persisted.

Over the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), cumulative revenue totaled only about KRW 3.25 billion while the net loss attributable to owners reached KRW 39.9 billion, reflecting a widening gap between the scale of revenue and losses.

Operating cash flow was negative in every year from 2022 to 2025 (KRW -9.0 billion, -12.6 billion, -3.2 billion, and -10.2 billion, respectively), indicating the core business has yet to generate positive cash flow.

Global electric vehicle demand has been passing through a growth slowdown often described as a 'chasm,' which has softened battery-grade lithium hydroxide consumption, while industry participants have noted that demand for lithium carbonate has remained relatively resilient given growing energy storage system (ESS) needs tied to solar and wind power expansion.

Domestically, given high import dependence on lithium salts and compounds, the government has strengthened supply-chain management for economic security items, and companies including Hydro Lithium have been designated as Supply Chain Stabilization Leading Enterprises by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, forming a policy support axis.

The Saemangeum national industrial complex has been designated a secondary battery specialized zone, where major domestic electrolyte and lithium salt producers—including EDL, the joint venture between Enchem and Joongang Advanced Materials—alongside Hydro Lithium and Lithium Force are building large-scale production facilities with substantial capital, indicating a regional clustering of the lithium materials industry.

EDL reportedly plans to invest KRW 600.5 billion in Saemangeum to build lithium salt production capacity of 50,000 tons per year, underscoring that several competitors hold a clear advantage over Hydro Lithium in capital strength and scale economics.

Hydro Lithium claims a technical differentiation through its affiliate Lithium Plus's New Excellent Technology (NET) certification for ultra-high-purity lithium hydroxide manufacturing from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, though this has yet to translate into a clear revenue advantage over competitors.

Diversification of end demand across secondary battery, solid-state battery, and lithium grease industries reduces dependence on any single automaker or battery major, but the relatively small volumes sold to each channel suggest it will take time to establish stable revenue.

The company has outlined plans to build an initial-stage battery-grade ultra-high-purity lithium hydroxide facility with 10,000 tons per year of capacity at the Saemangeum national industrial complex, with a longer-term target of expanding to 50,000 tons per year.

Its 2025 annual report states that a land purchase agreement for the Saemangeum site was signed in April 2023 and a groundbreaking ceremony held in July of that year, with foundation work proceeding, though no recent disclosure confirms a completion or start-up date.

On the funding side, the company carried out a third-party-placement rights offering in February 2026 (278,903 new shares, roughly KRW 550 million raised, for operating funds) followed by a convertible bond issuance in March 2026 (KRW 160 million face value, 1.0% coupon, maturing March 2029); both were relatively small in scale, suggesting a focus on securing short-term operating funds rather than financing large capital investment.

On September 4, 2026, the company disclosed a decision to consolidate shares at a 5-to-1 ratio to maintain an appropriate float and stabilize the share price, with a confirmed schedule including a shareholder meeting on October 23, a trading suspension from November 20 to December 10, and relisting on December 11.

Given that the Geumsan plant's designation as the 'Geumsan Lithium General Industrial Complex' in December 2025 improved operating conditions, whether existing facilities can sustain stable operations will likely be the first point to monitor.

Progress on the Saemangeum plant following groundbreaking, as well as follow-through on affiliate Lithium Plus's overseas raw-material projects such as the Bolivian salt flat development, remain variables that could affect the medium-to-long-term business structure.