Good morning and good evening. This is Sara Hwang, Head of IR at LG Energy Solution. Thank you for joining our 2026 Q1 earnings conference call. First, I'd like to introduce who are present today. Lee, Chang Sil, CFO, Lee, Sangyoon , in c harge of Finance, Park, Sung-pil, i n c harge of Accounting, Jung, Jae-eok, in c harge of Planning and Management, Ahn, Min-gyu, in c harge of Advanced Automotive Battery P lanning and Management, Roh, In-hwan in charge of Mobility and IT Battery Planning and Management, Kim, Min-soo in charge of ESS Battery Planning and Management, and Lee, Yeon-hee, in charge of Corporate Strategy. For your reference, the presentation for business performance and strategy will be conducted with simultaneous interpretation, after which we will have Q&A with consecutive interpretation. The presentation materials are available on the real-time webcast or can be downloaded from the corporate website.
In this conference call, I'm going to go over the 2026 Q1 results, and then our CFO will share our key business achievements, recent market trends, and key initiatives, which will be followed by Q&A. Please note that the forward-looking statements included in the call are subject to change according to amendments in future business environment and corporate strategies. Before we begin, I'd like to highlight the accounting changes applied from this quarter. Last year, most of the volume in North America was for the JVs. However, starting this year, the standalone production sites and ESS and EV mix lines within the JVs will start production in earnest. In order to clearly depict our portion of the North American production incentive effects generated by sales to clients other than JVs, the amount will be consolidated into revenue under other income.
For comparability of financial statements, past financial figures included in this presentation have been adjusted accordingly. Now, I'll go over revenue for this quarter. Company-wide revenue, despite continued weak EV demand in North America, but thanks to relatively robust ESS and cylindrical battery demand, increased by 1% QoQ to reach KRW 6.6 trillion. For EV batteries, low, mid, and chemistry product shipment to Europe continued to increase. However, conservative inventory management by a major North American customer led to a temporary suspension of JV production, resulting in a QoQ revenue decline. For small battery business, upgraded EV models showing strong sales generated robust shipment of the 2170. Also, the domestic production of the 46-series began last quarter. This quarter, we observed its shipment starting to take off, evidenced by QoQ revenue increase.
In the ESS battery business, the ramp up of capacity in North America enabled higher sales to major grid scale ESS customers, sustaining meaningful revenue growth. This quarter, the revenue contribution of the 46-series to the total small battery division revenue reached mid-single digit percentage, while the ESS revenue contribution jumped to mid-20% level of the company's total revenue. Meanwhile, the quarterly revenue and operating profit includes the North American production incentives. Despite growing ESS shipment due to significant reduction of EV battery shipments, the incentives decreased by more than 40% QoQ to KRW 189.8 billion. I'll move on to P&L. Despite major cost saving efforts, the North American ESS production site expansion and related initial ramp-up costs and reduction of EV pouch volume to strategic customer led to a weaker product mix.
As a result, the company recorded a larger operating loss than the previous quarter, KRW 207.8 billion with a negative operating margin of 3%. As for non-operating items, disposal of obsolete assets led to a loss on disposal of PP&E. Also, reflecting interest expense, the company recorded a non-operating loss of KRW 650.8 billion. Before tax net loss was KRW 858.6 billion, net loss was KRW 944 billion. I'll go over the financials. As of 2026 Q1, due to preparations of the cylindrical battery production site in Arizona and the Michigan ESS line expansion, PP&E increased. In result, total assets increased by about KRW 4.7 trillion from year-end 2025 to KRW 71.8 trillion.
On the liability side, increased borrowings led to a KRW 4.1 trillion increase from the previous year of KRW 41.9 trillion. Capital rose by KRW 0.6 trillion to KRW 29.9 trillion. Liabilities- to- equity was 140%, debt-to-equity was 83%, and net debt-to-equity was 70%. Moving on to cash flow, a KRW 0.9 trillion EBITDA generation and KRW 0.8 trillion domestic bond issuance generated a cash inflow of KRW 1.7 trillion. Meanwhile, CapEx focusing on essential investments decreased by 47% YoY to approximately KRW 1.6 trillion. As a result, cash as of Q1 stood at KRW 3.7 trillion, similar to the previous quarter. This will conclude the business performance overview.
Next, our CFO will present the key achievements, recent market trends, and key initiatives of Q1.
Good morning and good evening. I am Lee, Chang Sil , CFO. Let me start off by going over the major business achievements of this quarter. First, in February, with an existing ESS strategic customer, we signed an additional power grid project in North America. The project is scheduled to start supply in 2028. Compared to the currently manufactured LFP ESS products, energy density will be improved by approximately 10% and landed cost by around 15%. Based on improved technology, cost competitiveness, and local production capabilities, we are actively responding to the needs of ESS customers. We are enhancing our project pipeline not only in the short term, but also for the mid, long term. Our efforts in ESS are already bearing fruit. Last year, ESS revenue contribution was less than 10%.
It has now reached mid-20%. ESS should continue to expand to contribute up to mid-30% by year-end. In addition, towards end of last year, we started production of the 46-series in Ochang, which is now running smoothly. We, LG Energy Solution, are preparing global operations centered in North America based on diversified lineup tailored to customer needs, ranging from the 4680 to the 46120. We are in active discussions with multiple OEMs to diversify our customer base. As a result, our order backlog, which was 300 GWh at the end of last year, has now increased to over 440 GWh as of end of April.
In terms of operations, at the Tennessee UC phase two site, we decided back in March to convert some EV lines to ESS lines in the second quarter, which means in North America this year, we will establish a total of five ESS production sites. This will enable timely response to ESS customer demand while also enhancing the utilization of idle lines. By year-end in North America, we plan to secure more than 50 GWh of ESS production capacity. Next, I will go over recent market trends. The war between Iran and the U.S., which is currently significantly impacting the battery industry, has been ongoing for nearly two months. Supply chain uncertainty has increased due to logistics disruption, while oil prices from last year's $ 70/ bbl has jumped to over $ 100/bbl, and it seems possible that this trend may be prolonged.
The gas and oil price volatility and supply risk, on top of the rapidly surging global need for power, are once again emphasizing the importance of energy security. Against this backdrop, need for regional energy self-sufficiency and securing a stable power grid are expected to continuously grow. ESS, combined with renewable energy, is a realistic alternative that can supplement the limitations of existing power sources and therefore, should garner more attention. Especially considering that it usually takes at least five to even more than 15 years for existing power sources from approval to the actual supply of power. Renewable energy and ESS is in the limelight as an effective solution to address surging power demand, as it can be built within one year if done quickly. In addition, considering the infrastructure investment and total lifetime generation cost, ESS is the most cost- competitive choice.
ESS can mitigate peak loads to enhance stability of the power grid and simultaneously prevent against blackout risk through uninterrupted power supply. As such, as a data center's core power infrastructure, the importance of ESS is expected to be even more emphasized going forward. Energy supply uncertainty and high oil prices should also highlight the need for conversion to EVs as governments face the need for energy self-sufficiency. From the consumer's perspective, car installments, insurance, gas prices, when all of these costs are included, the total cost of ownership between ICEs and EVs is considerably narrowing, which should support consumer preference for EVs. The major leading EV makers are also riding this trend. With significantly improved performance and user experience enabled by the rapid commercialization and sophistication of autonomous driving technology, notwithstanding short-term demand volatility, it should serve as a mid, long-term EV demand recovery driver.
Policy-wise, localization requirements are strengthening. The OBBBA in the [audio distortion] U.S. requires power generators to source at least 50% of its ESS locally this year and 55% next year for it to be eligible for tax deductions up to 40% of related CapEx. This incentive system is effective until 2035. In Europe, according to the IAA proposed in March, to be eligible for public tenders and subsidies, EVs require at least three locally manufactured parts, including the battery cell. ESS require European production of batteries and BMS, which is why discussions on supply chain localization in Europe is taking place in earnest. As major markets introduce detailed localization policies across the energy value chain, in order to maximize incentives and effectively respond to logistics, tariffs, and other external variables, customers' preference for players with a local production base will continuously increase.
Amidst such change, I believe the most important business priority this year is to strengthen cash flow and secure a healthy financial structure. Therefore, we will continue to enhance EBITDA- driven cash generation capabilities. We will improve cash flow through disposal of non-core assets, including JV buildings and equity, while tightly managing working capital to ultimately improve asset turnover and financial structure. In terms of cash out, while maximizing the usage of existing assets and facilities, we will maintain the policy of executing only the minimum essential investment according to strategic priorities. In terms of business for ESS, we will actively pursue new orders centered on key demand sources such as power infrastructure and AI data centers based on technological and local production capabilities.
Also, we will focus on early stabilization of operations at our five ESS production sites in North America to ensure that we provide high- quality products in a timely manner at competitive cost. For EVs, we will closely monitor market conditions by actively leveraging our regionally diversified customer base, while preoccupying opportunities when demand recovers by taking advantage of our flexible production capabilities. Throughout the year, cylindrical batteries are expected to show robust demand, which will be met with our capacity in Korea and Asia. We are also preparing to start operations in Arizona by year-end as part of our efforts to strengthen the overall regional production mix. For the supply chain, we are further sophisticating our monitoring system used by all business divisions to monitor commodity sourcing and inventory levels in light of the recent hike in geopolitical uncertainty.
While actively leveraging our diversified supplier base, in order to respond to commodity price volatility risk, we are securing metal volumes at fixed price and using future derivatives for hedging purposes to implement a preemptive sourcing strategy. For logistics, efforts to diversify transport routes via land and sea and to preemptively secure shipping capacity are being made as stability of supply becomes top priority. At the same time, we will be engaging in strategic negotiations to minimize possible transport cost increase. Lastly, to ensure that we win in the competitive market, securing product competitiveness is crucial. In ESS, hardware performance, including that of battery cells and packs, will be improved. Also, the battery state and lifetime production accuracy will be enhanced while advancing the power trading solution. Such efforts in enhancing the system integration capabilities will be made in parallel to increase turnkey orders.
In EV, stronger supercharging functions will be featured in the new cylinder type product, products scheduled for release later this year. We will continue to develop products for each application that are optimal to addressing customer needs. In addition to secure differentiated technology for the future, our pilot lot is testing mass production of the dry electrode process. Solid state and sodium batteries are also under speedy development. Investors, analysts and shareholders, the business environment we are facing today implies that geopolitics has become a constant, not a variable. I believe that the secondary battery industry is undergoing change by redefining the direction forward. In such time of transformation, understanding the new direction and capturing opportunities would be crucial. Therefore, LG Energy Solution will responsively and preemptively doing our utmost to achieve tangible results. Thank you.
This is the end of our presentation and let us move on to the Q&A session. For more participants to get chances, please limit your question to two.
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Questions will be taken according to the order you have pressed star and one. For cancellation, please press star and two on your phone.
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The first question will be presented by Kim, Hyunsoo from Hana Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. This is Hyunsoo Kim from Hana Securities. The first question that I would like to ask you is about the second quarter trends. If you compare that to the first quarter, how do the trends look in terms of the overall performance? If you could also discuss the full year 2026 outlook, that would also be appreciated. The second question that I have is about your ESS business. I do believe that this is the business that is showing the highest and most rapid growth.
Particularly, if we would to look at the North American market for the full year, what are your expectations in terms of volume and profitability for the year?
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With regards to the first question that you asked, which was our second quarter trends and for the full year in terms of our expectations, maybe I can address the question. This is the CFO. First, to talk about the second quarter, if we look at the North American ESS demand, it does continue to remain strong. As we increase our capacity, we do actually believe that there will be a significant and meaningful increase in our ESS shipments. In addition to that, for our strategic customer, we do also see a stable supply of cylindrical volume that is going to continue within the quarter.
As you are well aware, in the case of EV batteries in the U.S., the overall demand is still continuously slow. However, on the European side, for high voltage mid-nickel, lower to mid-end products, and also in terms of the batteries for hybrid vehicles, we relatively see robust trends taking place. If we look at the full company topline on a quarter-over-quarter basis, we do expect that the growth will be 10%+ for the next quarter. If we talk about the P&L in the short term, because of the recent war that is taking place and other external factors, we do think that there will be an increase in logistical costs and also utility costs. That is a situation that is happening.
However, for the company as a whole, we are engaging in various cost saving efforts and trying to increase the operational efficiencies that we have. For ESS new capacity, by stabilizing the overall ramp up, we do want to continuously decrease the ramp up cost. When excluding the IRA tax benefits on a full company basis, the overall target would be to turn into the black. If we talk about the 2026 full year expectations that we have, because of the recent global, you know, developments that are taking place, and also because there's a lot of volatility within the market, it is very difficult and a bit challenging to set out a forecast for the second half or for the full year.
However, that has been said, a s we have already said on the ESS side, we do see clear signs of the overall demand increasing. In North America, for the sites, as we stabilize the operations, we do think that there is a potential to maximize the overall capabilities to cater to the demand that we see within this market. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, we do think that there will continuously be a significant and meaningful growth that we see on the topline. For EV batteries, the customers still tend to be a bit conservative with their purchasing trends. As mentioned before, for the European mid-nickel or LFP, so with regards to the mid to lower- end batteries, there is a continuous increase in supply.
To our cylindrical strategic customer, we do expect the overall revenue to expand in that area. Versus the overall full year guidance that we provided at the beginning of the year, I do think that we will be able to maintain the 10%, 15%-20% growth on the topline that we had mentioned before. At the company level, within a market environment that continues to change very rapidly, we will try to very agilely deal with the changes in customer demand that we see, and at the same time, make sure that we do not miss any growth opportunities, so that we can leverage the most of the current environment.
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Thank you. Maybe I can address your second question about the ESS business in terms of the volumes and also the overall profit outlook that we have going forward. This is Kim, Min-Soo from the ESS Battery Planning and Management team. First, to talk about our volume expectations. If we look at the North American market as of the end of last year, our ESS order book already reached 140 GWh. By increasing our overall capacity on the ground this year, from the first quarter, we actually have been able to see a growth in the topline in earnest from this business. For the full year, we do think that we will continue to add on a meaningful volume of new orders.
Towards the second quarter and also as we move into the second half of the year, we do think that quarter-over-quarter, we will see a gradual increase in the overall volume that we have and the overall revenue growth that we see from this business. To talk about profitability, there are multiple EV production lines that we have converted for ESS purposes, and because the overall ramp up is taking place in a consecutive basis, in the ramp up period in itself, there is of course the upfront fixed cost that we need to incur. Also, due to the Middle East situation, oil prices have been on the rise. There's also the tariff effects.
Because of these unexpected external elements that are taking place or, you know, volatility that we see within the market, f or the key raw material, there has been an increase in processing cost has also gone up. This has somewhat impacted our overall profit profile. However, at the company level, for the newly converted capacity, we are focusing on stabilizing the yield and also utilization as early as possible and also engage in continuous purchasing cost innovation and also cost saving efforts, including the overall processing cost. We will try to improve our overall profit profile and also the profitability of this business.
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The next question will be presented by Lee, Jin Myung from Shinhan Investment & Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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Yes, thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. There are two questions that I would like to ask you. First is that, with regards to the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, it does seem to be that there is a possibility that it will last for longer. What do you think would be the impact or the upside that you see in terms of the downstream demand, and how is the company positioning itself to deal with this situation? The second question that I would like to ask you is about your small battery business. The business with Tesla is going and is very strong. What is your expectations in terms of your cylindrical battery business and also from the Arizona production facility?
What type of preparations are being made on the 46-series production?
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Maybe I can address your first question, which is about the U.S.-Iran situation in terms of the overall impact that we see and the possible upside on the demand side. This is the CFO. Versus our initial expectations, it does seem to be that there is a possibility that the U.S.-Iran conflict will last for longer. Amidst such a situation, the company has taken a multi-faceted analysis about what the impact could be on the battery industry as a whole and also our business. We do continue to monitor the trends that we see within the market.
First, to talk about it from an operational standpoint, from the company's perspective, we had actually taken preemptive measures even before the recent situations emerged, to build out our local production capabilities, from region-to-region and also the supply chain in such regions. Therefore, from the conflict in itself, we do believe that the direct impact on our operations will be limited. However, that have been said, across the board, we do expect that there will be an increase in logistic costs and also, there could be a possibility that inflation will remain higher for longer.
For that reason, the company will be engaging in various cost reduction efforts by minimizing CapEx as much as possible, trying to increase the efficiency of our cost expenditures and also optimizing our SCM. If we look at the market demand and the implications there for global energy supply and demand, due to the recent situation, we have seen a surge in oil prices and also natural gas prices. Even after the conflict is over, we do believe it will be very challenging for this situation to ease at once. On a relative basis, we have seen as a result an increase in the EV new car registrations and also the overall transaction that are taking place in the used car market.
As a result, I do believe that there can be improved purchasing sentiment from consumers for EV vehicles because at the end of the day, they are free from any oil price volatility and can also provide lower fuel costs. Taking into consideration the possibility of demand coming from such a situation, we are planning to actively address any changes within the market that we see. In the case of ESS, for the traditional energy infrastructure that has been hit due to the war situation, we do think that the recovery of such cannot help but take a significant amount of time.
As a result of that, we do think that there will be a continuous customer preference for new and new renewable energy products and also ESS at the same time, because it does provide relatively less volatility in the energy price and provides better visibility and generation cost. From the company levels, between EV and ESS, we are trying to be flexible in our overall stance, and also because we do have global production capacity, we will base, and because we do have also market leading operation capabilities, we will continue to see the market, how the market evolves, to flexibly deal with such a situation, and also to ensure that we are able to actually deal with various business opportunities and actually realize results.
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Maybe I can address your second question about the cylindrical demand that we have and also the production of our 46-series. This is Roh, In-hwan from the Mobility and IT Battery Planning and Management team. First to talk about the cylindrical demand that we see from the second half of last year, because of the new models that had been launched in China, we have seen an increase in the overall EV sales from our customer side. Also in the European market, there continues to be solid sales trends that continue. As a result, for the cylindrical volume that we have, there continues to be an increase in that area. In addition, for this year, recently due to the high increasing oil prices within the China area and also in India, we actually see an increase in demand for electric two-wheeled vehicles.
Towards the second half and also towards the second quarter of this year, as a result of that, we do think that the topline for the cylindrical battery business will continue to maintain very solid trends. To talk about our 46-series production. In the case of our 46-series from the end of last year, from our Ochang line, we continue to, without issue, supply various volumes for our customers. In Arizona, in order to deal with the overall order volume that we have, if early, we do think that we will be able to start production in terms of the mass scale production from the end of this year.
For our 46-series, based upon our global operational capabilities and technical competitiveness from various European OEMs, we have been able to secure orders of large volumes for 46 volume that would be embedded into premium EV vehicles. Based upon that, we actually believe that we will be able to further diversify our overall customer base for cylindrical EV batteries. At the same time, not only just in North America, but also from the European customer side, we are looking into the on-the-ground demand that is taking place. Therefore, over the longer term, we are actually reviewing the possibility of securing a cylindrical battery capacity within Poland.
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The next question will be presented by Jeong, Wonseok from iM Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. There are two questions that I would like to ask. First is on the ESS side. I think that during your presentation today, you did mention that in North America, your ESS capacity would reach 20 GWh by the end of the year. Could you talk about your plans after that situation or going forward? In addition to that, do you think that there would be any possibility of there being an oversupply situation in the North American ESS market? The second question that I would like to ask you is about your EV battery demand. In North America, it does believe, the overall market continues to be very sluggish. At the company level, do you see any signs of a recovery taking place?
What is your overall outlook for the second half of the year?
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Maybe I can take your question about the ESS business. This is Kim, Min-soo from the ESS Battery Planning and Management division. First to talk about, you know, how our capacity is evolving and the plans going forward. At the company level, focusing on the North American market, as you mentioned, we do see a significant increase in overall ESS demand. To deal with such a situation, we are trying to actively use the existing production sites that we have, so that in a preemptive manner we can actually build out our local production platform. As the CFO had mentioned during the earnings highlights from last year, there is our Michigan factory and also Canada , Ontario site, which is stably mass-producing ESS batteries.
Added to that, we are also planning to, in sequence, add on ESS lines in our Michigan, Lansing, standalone facility and also under the capacity, some of the capacity that we have under the Honda JV and GM JV phase number two. By the end of the year, as you had mentioned in your question, the overall capacity in North America will represent 50 GWh in total. In addition to that, we do actually have additional space that we can utilize for ESS production purposes. We will continue to monitor and take into consideration the overall production efficiencies and also the customer requests that we see and the timing of such to additionally control and moderate the overall capacity that we have within this market.
You did ask about, you know, a possible oversupply situation in North America. If you currently look at the supply-demand dynamics within this market, based upon the overall volume in North America for ESS demand going forward, there is an expectation that, you know, driven by the overall grid-related demand, that the market will grow at a CAGR of close to 20% until 2030. Take into consideration on the supply side, that for the Chinese players, there are limitations in entering into the market. For the non-Chinese players, there is a limited number that actually has local production capabilities. As a result, for the local U.S. production supply, we do think that there will continue to be a shortfall versus the demand until 2030.
Added to that, if we look at the grid-related overall demand and also AI-based data center demand is continuously growing, and if we take into consideration the current trends, as of the current time, I do think that it would be a bit premature to be concerned about an oversupply situation within the North American market.
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This is Ahn, Min-gyu from the Advanced Automotive Battery Planning and Management side. Maybe I can address your second question about the EV market. For the EV market demand, it is true that, you know, there are differences that we see by region. In the case of the Europe market, of course, on a relative basis, we do see more solid trends in terms of sales, whereas in the North American market, due to the overall abolishment of consumer purchasing incentives and also with regards to the stable inventory management stance that our customers have been taking, overall from the fourth quarter of last year, we do continue to see an overall weak trend within demand.
However, if we look at the month-over-month trends within the market, in March, though it was a slight improvement, we actually did see an increase in overall U.S. EV sales, including our strategic customers. In the used car market, for EV sales, we actually do see signs of growth taking place. Amidst a high oil price environment, we do believe that some of the overall purchasing sentiments that consumers have, for EV vehicles, has improved. Therefore, we do, you know, cautiously expect that that may be something that is taking place. However, as of now, we have not seen any signs of direct change taking place at the customer level.
In the case that the current trends do continue, we do expect that we cannot rule out the possibility that our customers may use their inventory earlier or deplete it earlier than we had initially expected, and that there could be an increase in overall EV demand. We continue to see and monitor the overall recovery trends, possible recovery trends within the market, in a very diligent manner. First, in terms of the relative stronger demand that we see in the U.S. customers, in the European customers rather, we will continue to cater to the demand that we see in low to mid-end products such as mid-nickel batteries or LFP batteries and also, the hybrid- related demand.
In the North American market, we are going to ensure that in the second half of the year with our strategic customer, when we restart production there, that we will be prepared to be able to restart without any issue.
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The last question will be from Park, Jin-soo from Shinyoung Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. I also have two questions that I would like to ask you. First, with regards to prismatic batteries and also sodium batteries, what type of preparations has the company made in that area? How is the current situation evolving, and what would be our competitive edge in these areas? The second question that I would like to ask you is that recently, metal prices have been increasing, and the U.S. dollar continues to remain strong. What is the impact on our business, and how are we dealing with such a situation?
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Maybe I can address your first question. This is Lee, Yeon-hee from the Business Strategy side. First of all, to talk about the prismatic form factor f or prismatic batteries, we are planning to first, launch products for ESS battery purposes. Right now, we are preparing to do so. For the North American ESS customers, we are planning to start mass production on the ground at the end of 2027. In line with that schedule, we currently have our product development and also investment targets, which are going ahead without any issue. For EV prismatic batteries, right now we are developing various products with a multiple number of customers based upon LFP and LMR chemistry, according to, you know, what the customer is requiring.
From the Ochang pilot line that we have, we are currently producing samples and continue to engage in co-development. Based upon the accumulated product development capabilities that we have and the supply chain that we have built out, we are trying to, in a timely manner, provide the products that our customer needs and also that the market needs. With regards to the production sites, in line with the evolutions that we see on the demand side, we are planning to gradually expand our capacity. In the case of sodium batteries, as of now, the price is still very high. However, not only in terms of cost competitiveness, but also in terms of the performance in low temperatures and also, power delivery characteristics, versus LFP.
We do think that there are many benefits that we would be able to see. In terms of customer demand, we expect that there will be demand in the ESS market for the small-sized EV segment A and B, and also in the case of 12-V and 24-V alternative to lead-acid battery type of market. As of now, with a multiple number of OEMs, we have produced samples of 12 V and 24 V battery products, which are being used for technology verification with in-vehicle testing. And for ESS batteries right now, we are in the process of verifying the technology with a large size North American developer.
In the case of our prismatic batteries, versus other peers within the market that focus on this product, we have started a bit late. In terms of the sodium-ion batteries, the development is still in the early stages. Based upon our R&D know-how and also track record that we have accumulated across the past three decades, we do think that we can come up with an appropriate solution to meet our potential customers in the market and also the customer needs, so that we can secure a product in this area that can cater to this market.
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Maybe I can take your second question. This is Jung, Jae-eok from the Planning and Management side. First, to talk about the increase in metal prices, for key metals such as lithium and nickel, because of the expectations about an increase in demand driven by AI data centers from the fourth quarter of last year, we do see an increasing trend. Due to the overall business structure that we have in which, the change in metal prices is reflected on our ASP with a time lag of around one to two months, we do think that we will actually see a gradual reflection in our ASP from the second half of this year, due to the metal price increase trends that we see recently.
However, to minimize the overall impact on our business as much as possible from the volatility in metal prices for EV projects, we do have a pass through, in our ASP of the key metal price changes that are taking place. On the ESS side, due to the nature of the market in which it's more short-term contract focus and also because of various customer requests, there are some cases in which we will have a fixed price, for a contract, for the overall orders.
If that is the situation, then on the flip side of that, with the metal producers or for the raw material pro-providers, we also will engage in a fixed price contract, or we will actually use various features or derivatives, to risk the hedge that we would actually be exposed to in a price increasing environment. At the end of the day, if we look at the overall impact from an increase in metal prices on our business, we actually believe that the impact would be limited in terms of our P&L. To talk about the exchange rate situation and the U.S. dollar, of course, at the company level, we, for foreign currency, we don't only have the U.S. dollar, but a wide multiple of various other foreign currencies that we transact in.
If we just look at the U.S. dollar specifically, we do have a long position in U.S. dollars. Therefore, if the dollar is in a strong position versus the Korean won, then both, in terms of the topline and also in terms of our P&L, there will be a positive impact that we will see from that. In the case of the foreign currency corporate debentures that we have issued at the HQ level, in the case that the won does weaken, there may be an increase in the overall consolidated borrowings that we would recognize.
However, in actuality, for the FX risk in itself, we do hedge it, using various forward transactions or currency swaps, to minimize the overall impact of the FX change as much as possible.
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Thank you very much. With this, we would like to wrap up the first quarter 2026 earnings conference call for LG Energy Solution. Thank you for your attendance.