Pohang, EcoPro's Record 2 Trillion Won Investment! ... Boost for Attracting Secondary Battery Specialized Complex

EcoPro·Blue Valley National Industrial Complex to Expand Integrated Cathode Material Production Plant

Targeting Total 1 Million Tons of Cathode Materials by 2030, Establishing Foundation as a Global Leading City

EcoPro, a global secondary battery material company, is building the largest-ever cathode material production plant in Pohang, Gyeongbuk.

Eco Battery Pohang Campus established in Yeongilman Industrial Complex, Pohang.

According to Pohang City and Gyeongbuk Province on the 6th, EcoPro, the world's number one company in the cathode material market, is promoting the expansion of an integrated cathode material production plant in the Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex.

EcoPro plans to invest more than 2 trillion KRW by 2027 in the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex to establish the "EcoPro Blue Valley Campus (tentative name)," which will comprehensively produce secondary battery materials such as raw materials, precursors, and cathode materials.

The Blue Valley Campus is scheduled to begin construction in the second half of this year, aiming to start plant operations by the second half of 2025, and is expected to create over 1,000 new jobs.

This is the largest single investment ever made by Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang City. EcoPro, which currently has an annual cathode material production capacity of about 180,000 tons (as of 2023), plans to secure a production capacity of 710,000 tons by 2027 starting with this investment.

Since 2017, EcoPro has invested more than 1.7 trillion KRW in the Pohang Yeongilman Industrial Complex to build the world's only "EcoBattery Pohang Campus," which has a vertically integrated full-cycle value chain for materials, including raw materials, precursors, cathode materials, and recycling.

This has created over 1,800 new jobs and positioned Pohang at the center of an innovative industrial development strategy that transforms the city’s industrial structure from steel-centered to secondary battery industry-centered.

With EcoPro’s additional investments in the existing Pohang Campus and the Blue Valley investment plan, Pohang City is set to solidify its status as a leading secondary battery city with a total investment exceeding 5 trillion KRW in the Pohang area.

In particular, EcoPro’s participation as a leading company in the national advanced strategic industry specialized complex designation competition, which Pohang City and Gyeongbuk Province are actively pursuing, is expected to gain momentum.

Cathode materials are the core components among the four main elements of secondary batteries (cathode material, anode material, electrolyte, separator), determining the battery’s lifespan, capacity, and voltage. They account for more than 40% of the battery cost and are the most important material in determining battery prices.

With EcoPro’s investment, Pohang’s production volume of cathode materials, a key secondary battery material, will significantly increase, enabling the region to gain global competitiveness in the secondary battery material sector.

In the Pohang area, leading companies such as EcoPro and POSCO Future M are expected to achieve an annual cathode material production capacity of up to 1 million tons by 2030, which accounts for 16.5% of the global cathode material demand of 6.05 million tons. Furthermore, production of other secondary battery materials besides cathode materials is also expected to increase significantly to over 1.2 million tons annually.

Pohang boasts a highly competitive ecosystem with large and small companies cooperating, including leading companies such as POSCO Future M, Energy Materials, and Hyosung, which produce both anode and cathode materials, as well as SMEs like SoluM, Mirae Ceratech, and Haedong Engineering, all investing together.

A Pohang City official stated, “Leading global secondary battery companies are discussing investments in our region,” adding, “Details such as scale and timing are currently under discussion,” and expects large-scale follow-up investments from secondary battery companies in the future.

Pohang’s rise as a global city for secondary battery materials is attributed to its excellent location with a well-connected transportation network, including Yeongilman Port?the only container port on the East Coast?railroads, airports, and highways.

Additionally, the concentration of specialized secondary battery research and educational institutions provides competitive manpower supply comparable to the metropolitan area. Moreover, Pohang has strengths in developing breakthrough technologies through secondary battery material analysis using 3rd and 4th generation synchrotron radiation accelerators and world-class R&D infrastructure in the Jigok complex.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, “We are pooling regional capabilities to be designated as a national advanced strategic industry secondary battery specialized complex based on the achievements and optimal industrial ecosystem Pohang has built in a short time,” adding, “We will prepare growth engines for the next 100 years by linking the steel industry technology accumulated over the past 50 years with the secondary battery industry for a new leap forward.”

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