OCI advances into coal tar pitch business for artificial graphite, makes first delivery to Japanese company in Korea

On the 15th, OCI, a major Korean polycrystalline silicon manufacturer, announced that it had acquired IBIDEN Graphite Korea, a Korean subsidiary of IBIDEN, a Japanese electronic parts manufacturer, from IBIDEN Graphite Korea Co., Ltd., a company that manufactures graphite.
OCI currently has an annual production capacity of 520,000 tons of liquid coal tar pitch in Korea and China.
Coal tar pitch is mainly used as a raw material for binder pitch for aluminum smelting electrodes. Until now, South Korea has relied entirely on imports for coal tar pitch.
The global market for raw materials for artificial graphite is approximately 3 billion dollars (USD), and the recovery of the semiconductor market and the growth of the defense industry are expected to contribute to the domestic production of coal tar pitch.
OCI plans to expand coal tar pitch production through the optimization of its existing production facilities.
The company is focusing on strengthening its technological capabilities in the high-value-added materials business, with a focus on semiconductors and secondary batteries.
The company will begin supplying phosphoric acid for conductor manufacturing to SK Hynix in the July-December quarter of 2024. In February 2025, the company will acquire a stake in P&O Chemicals and expand its business to hydrogen peroxide for semiconductors.
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