POSCO Breaks Ground on Secondary Battery Recycling Plant

Groundbreaking of Secondary Battery Recycling Plant in Yulchon Industrial Complex, Jeonnam on the 30th

Joint Venture POSCO HY Clean Metal Established with China Huayou Cobalt... 120 Billion KRW Investment

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] POSCO Group broke ground on a secondary battery recycling plant on the 30th at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Jeonnam.

About 50 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including Jung Chang-hwa, Head of POSCO's New Growth Division; Song Sang-rak, Director of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone Authority; Lee Geon-seop, Head of Jeollanam-do Job Economy Headquarters; Park Hyun-sik, Deputy Mayor of Yeosu; Kim Kyung-ho, Deputy Mayor of Gwangyang; Jeon Chang-gon, Chairman of Yeosu City Council; Jin Su-hwa, Chairman of Gwangyang City Council; Heo Yong-soo, President of GS Energy; Jang Seung-se, Executive Director of LG Energy Solution; Min Kyung-jun, President of POSCO Chemical; and Ji Woo-hwang, CEO of POSCO HY Clean Metal.

In his commemorative speech, Jung Chang-hwa, Head of POSCO's New Growth Division, said, “POSCO HY Clean Metal, established as a joint venture between POSCO and China's Huayou Cobalt, is an eco-friendly secondary battery recycling business that extracts and sells essential raw materials for secondary battery materials such as nickel and lithium from waste batteries. It will be the future growth engine of POSCO Group.” He added, “We will firmly establish our position as a global supplier of secondary battery materials through continuous investment and technological development in the future.”

The plant constructed by POSCO HY Clean Metal will be built on a 60,000㎡ site within the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Jeonnam, with an investment of 120 billion KRW, aiming for completion in the second half of 2022. It will extract about 12,000 tons annually of nickel, lithium, cobalt, and other materials.

The eco-friendly recycling market for extracting secondary battery materials from waste battery scrap is expected to reach 28 trillion KRW by 2040 alongside the growth of electric vehicles. POSCO Group also plans additional expansions depending on future market conditions.

In March this year, POSCO established the PLSC corporation in Poland to process waste battery scrap from European secondary battery plants into Black Powder. In May, POSCO formed POSCO HY Clean Metal as a joint venture with China’s Huayou Cobalt, which holds world-class technology in mineral refining and purification, with a 65:35 ratio. POSCO HY Clean Metal is responsible for extracting nickel, lithium, and other materials from Black Powder.

Meanwhile, POSCO Group, which possesses competitive advantages across the secondary battery material value chain?from supplying core raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and graphite to producing cathode and anode materials?plans to supply 220,000 tons of lithium and 100,000 tons of nickel by 2030. By establishing a production system for 400,000 tons of cathode materials and 260,000 tons of anode materials by 2030, POSCO Group aims to achieve annual sales of 23 trillion KRW in the secondary battery materials sector.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.