POSCO Chemical Breaks Ground on Next-Generation Electric Vehicle Cathode Material Production Line in Pohang

Annual 30,000t Cathode Material Pohang Plant Groundbreaking on 7th
"Doubling to 60,000t Annually by 2025"

Next-Generation Electric Vehicle High-Nickel NCMA Cathode Material Production
160,000t Domestic Production by 2025... Establishing Bases in North America, China, and Indonesia

President Min Kyung-jun "Securing an Unrivaled Secondary Battery Material Supply Chain"

Minkyung Jun, CEO of POSCO Chemical. (Photo by POSCO Chemical)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] POSCO Chemical is building a high-nickel cathode material production line, a core material for next-generation electric vehicle batteries, in Pohang.

On the 7th, POSCO Chemical held a groundbreaking ceremony for the cathode material Pohang plant and began construction. About 100 people attended the ceremony, including Min Kyung-jun, President of POSCO Chemical, Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Lee Kang-deok, Mayor of Pohang, National Assembly members Kim Jeong-jae and Kim Byung-wook.

Following the groundbreaking of the lithium project in Argentina last month, POSCO Group plans to leap forward as a leading eco-friendly future materials company by investing in large-scale battery material businesses domestically as well. The group is expanding investments in battery materials by producing both cathode and anode materials in Pohang, the birthplace of its steel business. In his commemorative speech, President Min said, "POSCO Chemical, in connection with POSCO Group, has established an unrivaled secondary battery material business supply chain (value chain) from securing raw materials such as lithium and nickel to mass production capabilities." He added, "The cathode material Pohang plant, where such competitiveness is concentrated, will become the center of the battery material industry leading the development of the global market and South Korea’s industry."

The cathode material Pohang plant will be built on an area of approximately 120,000㎡ within the Yeongilman 4 General Industrial Complex in Pohang, with an investment of about 290 billion KRW and an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons. The plant is scheduled to start operations in 2024. Through additional investments, production capacity is planned to expand to 60,000 tons annually by 2025. The 60,000 tons of cathode material can be used for more than 600,000 high-performance electric vehicles, with an annual sales scale of about 2.5 trillion KRW.

A bird's-eye view of the cathode material Pohang plant, which POSCO Chemical broke ground on the 7th. (Photo by POSCO Chemical)

Notably, the company revealed that the Pohang cathode material plant will begin full-scale production of high-nickel NCMA single-particle cathode materials. High-nickel single-particle cathode materials maximize the battery’s energy storage capacity by increasing nickel content, while combining multiple raw materials such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese into a single particle structure to enhance strength and thermal stability. Utilizing this material can extend the driving range of electric vehicles and improve safety. POSCO Chemical expects this material to play a key role in securing leadership in next-generation material technology.

POSCO Chemical has been developing and promoting mass production of various high-nickel single-particle cathode materials that meet the order requirements of automakers and battery companies. Currently, it has completed the development of products with about 90% nickel content and plans to complete trial production of 96% nickel content products in the second half of the year.

With the groundbreaking of the Pohang plant, POSCO Chemical will consolidate a total annual cathode material production capacity of 160,000 tons domestically by 2025, including Pohang, Gwangyang, and Gumi. This establishes a foundation to timely respond to the expansion of orders for high-performance electric vehicle cathode materials. It also plans to secure a total production capacity of 115,000 tons overseas in major electric vehicle markets such as North America, China, Europe, and Indonesia, reaching a total domestic and international cathode material production capacity of 275,000 tons by 2025. Based on mass production capacity, next-generation material technology, and raw material procurement, the company aims to lead the battery material market.

POSCO Chemical is also focusing on securing raw material competitiveness. Last month, it decided to build a precursor production plant, an intermediate raw material for cathode materials, in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons. POSCO Group acquired shares in Ravensthorpe, a nickel smelting company in Australia, last year and has also entered the recycling business that extracts raw materials from used batteries.

Last month, POSCO Group also broke ground on a brine lithium plant in Argentina, planning to produce 50,000 tons of brine lithium annually by 2024. Additionally, POSCO Lithium Solutions will produce 43,000 tons of lithium annually at its ore lithium plant. As a result, POSCO Group will have a lithium production capacity of 93,000 tons annually starting in 2024. With this supply, POSCO Chemical will be able to fully self-supply the lithium needed for cathode material production in 2024.

The cooperation between POSCO Group and Pohang City in the battery material sector, which began last year with POSCO Chemical’s completion of the country’s first artificial graphite anode material plant, is expected to expand further with the construction of the Pohang plant. Pohang City has solidified its position as the only leading battery industry city in Korea producing both cathode and anode materials together, thanks to POSCO Group’s investment.

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