POSCO Starts Domestic First Commercial Production of Lithium Hydroxide from Ore Lithium...

Completion of Australian Ore Lithium-Based Lithium Hydroxide Production Plant
Gwangyang Steelworks Establishes Hyper NO Non-Oriented Electrical Steel Sheet Line
Choi Jung-woo "Contributing to Domestic Supply Chain Stabilization... Foothold for Market Entry"

POSCO Group has completed a lithium plant, a key raw material for secondary batteries, and has started the first commercial production in Korea. POSCO Group also completed a high-efficiency electrical steel plant that reduces energy loss by 30% compared to conventional electrical steel sheets.

On the 29th, POSCO Group held a completion ceremony for POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution's lithium hydroxide plant at the Yeolchun Industrial Complex in Jeollanam-do and a completion ceremony for the eco-friendly vehicle and premium home appliance electrical steel sheet 'Hyper NO (Hyper Non-Oriented electrical steel)' plant at the Gwangyang Steelworks.

POSCO Holdings established a joint venture, POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution, with Australian mining development company Pilbara Minerals in 2021. The goal is to build a production system for lithium hydroxide for secondary battery materials based on Australian ore lithium with an annual capacity of 43,000 tons by 2024.

The first plant completed on this day can produce 21,500 tons of lithium hydroxide annually. Combined with the second plant scheduled for completion in 2024, POSCO Group's total annual production of lithium hydroxide will reach 43,000 tons, enough to produce about 1 million electric vehicles.

POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks Hyper NO Plant Exterior [Provided by POSCO Group]

Aerial view of POSCO Philbar Lithium Solution [Image provided by POSCO Group]

On the same day, POSCO Group completed the high-efficiency non-oriented electrical steel sheet Hyper NO plant at the Gwangyang Steelworks. As the first phase of the electrical steel plant, it can produce 150,000 tons annually. POSCO Group plans to complete the second phase plant at Gwangyang Steelworks by 2024, establishing a total annual production system of 400,000 tons of Hyper NO, including 300,000 tons in Gwangyang and 100,000 tons in Pohang.

POSCO Group explained, "Steel companies with Hyper NO production technology are very limited worldwide," adding, "POSCO can produce Hyper NO with a thickness of up to 0.15 mm, which improves the efficiency of eco-friendly electric vehicle drive motor cores and significantly enhances driving range."

At the commemorative speech for the two completion ceremonies, Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group, said, "POSCO Group has laid the groundwork to become a leading company in eco-friendly future materials by domesticating lithium, a core raw material for secondary battery materials, and expanding the supply of high-efficiency electrical steel sheets," and added, "We will secure a leading position in the global eco-friendly vehicle market and contribute to strengthening national competitiveness."

Participants pressing the button during the groundbreaking ceremony for the lithium hydroxide plant for secondary battery materials held on June 13 at Yulchon 1 Industrial Complex, Jeonnam.
[Photo by POSCO Holdings]

POSCO Group succeeded in domesticating lithium hydroxide production, which had been entirely dependent on imports, by developing and applying its own technology to extract lithium from ore raw materials. The entire production process, from raw material procurement (Australia) to processing (Korea), takes place within countries that have signed FTAs with the United States, allowing expectations for benefits under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Along with this, the expansion of the Hyper NO plant will help alleviate supply shortages concerns of domestic eco-friendly vehicle customers. POSCO Group plans to actively respond to the full-scale arrival of the global electric vehicle market by establishing an annual production system of 1 million tons of electrical steel sheets by 2030, including considering the establishment of a new electrical steel plant in North America.

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