POSCO Future M Receives Approval for Anode Materials Investment in Vietnam... Accelerates Plant Construction

Investment of 357 Billion Won
Aiming for Mass Production in 2028

On April 23, POSCO Future M announced that it had received an Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) for its synthetic graphite anode materials business in Thai Nguyen Province at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

From the third person from the left in the photo, Vuong Quoc Tuan, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thai Nguyen Province, and Um Ki-chun, President of POSCO Future M. POSCO Future M

The IRC signifies the approval of foreign investment in Vietnam. With this approval, POSCO Future M has completed the business licensing procedures and plans to accelerate its investments based on local support.

POSCO Future M will invest approximately 357 billion won to begin construction of the first-phase factory at the Song Cong 2 Industrial Complex in Thai Nguyen Province in the second half of this year, with mass production scheduled for 2028. The company has already secured customers for the first-phase output and plans to pursue a second-phase investment in response to additional demand.

POSCO Future M intends to build its first overseas anode materials plant in Vietnam and, through collaboration with local partners, aims to enhance the stability of its global supply chain and strengthen its business competitiveness.

Synthetic graphite anode materials are advantageous for improving battery fast-charging performance and lifespan, leading to increasing demand. However, heavy reliance on specific countries has raised the need for supply chain diversification. The recent spread of protectionism is also cited as a factor accelerating supply chain restructuring.

POSCO Future M has been in supply negotiations with multiple clients and has been working to establish a production base in Vietnam to expand production capacity and secure cost competitiveness.

Vietnam is viewed as a favorable region for achieving price competitiveness due to its potential for reducing investment costs, electricity expenses, labor costs, and logistics expenses. Thai Nguyen Province is adjacent to Hanoi, which facilitates securing labor, and its proximity to the port city of Haiphong provides strong logistics accessibility.

POSCO Future M plans to leverage manufacturing technology developed in Korea to mass-produce competitively priced products in Vietnam for supply to global customers. The company localized production of natural graphite anode materials in 2011 and established a mass production system by completing a synthetic graphite plant in Pohang in 2021.

As global supply chain restructuring accelerates, POSCO Future M is pursuing the internalization of all processes for both natural and synthetic graphite anode materials. Based on this, the company aims to respond to the supply chain diversification needs of automakers and battery manufacturers.

Last year, POSCO Future M signed a supply contract with a Japanese battery company for natural graphite anode materials and subsequently entered into supply contracts totaling 1.6859 trillion won with global automakers. The company also plans to expand cooperation into cathode materials and lithium in the future.

Since opening its Hanoi office in 1991, POSCO Group has expanded its business in Vietnam mainly in the steel sector. More recently, through its subsidiary POSCO Flow, POSCO Holdings has established a local logistics corporation. With this investment, POSCO Group intends to expand its business into the secondary battery materials sector as well.

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