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POSCO Chemical invests in a new 60,000-ton cathode plant in Pohang
2021.07.08
On July 8, 2021, POSCO Chemical, together with Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Pohang city, held an investment-agreement-signing ceremony at Pohang City Hall attended by POSCO Chemical CEO Min Kyung-zoon, Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Pohang City Mayor Lee Kang-deok, and about 30 business stakeholders.
POSCO Chemical will invest 600 billion won starting in 2022 to construct a cathode production plant capable of manufacturing 60,000 tons of cathodes a year on a 120,000㎡site within the general industrial complex #4 at Yeongil Bay, Pohang.
Once the Pohang plant construction is complete, POSCO Chemical will be acquiring a domestic cathode production capability of 160,000 tons annually, together with Gwangyang and Gumi plants. This is enough to supply cathodes to more than 1,800,000 EVs running on 60 kWh batteries.
With the investment, POSCO Chemical has seized an opportunity in the rapidly growing battery materials market, significantly augmenting its production capability. It has also moved closer to meeting the goal of becoming a top-tier cathode producer in the world by 2025.
On top of the 160,000 tons in domestic production, the company will expedite investments overseas, including the US, Europe and China, to build more cathode factories with an annual output of 110,000 tons to boost the domestic and overseas production capacity to 270,000 tons by 2025.
According to an announcement made by Swiss investment bank, Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), global EV sales will rise from 3 million in 2020 to 35.5 million in 2023, increasing at an average annual rate of 28%. The bank added that this will push the demand for battery materials.
POSCO Chemical, together with POSCO, has increased its business competitiveness through the development of resources such as lithium, nickel, and raw graphite materials, preemptive investment to enhance mass production capabilities, and R&D for next-generation materials, such as NCMA cathodes. Building on these efforts, they have pursued a strategy to become a top-notch company in the secondary cell business.
Seeing that shifts in the battery market including internalization of battery production by global automakers and region-specific formation of supply chains would offer new opportunities for material providers with capabilities, POSCO Chemical is investing aggressively and diversifying its customer base to increase the market share.
POSCO Chemical CEO Min Kyung-zoon said, “We will build the most competitive production site in the world with Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Pohang emerging as a new hub for the battery industry.”
In 2019, Pohang was designated as a special regulation-free zone for next-generation batteries by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Since then, it has attracted numerous corporate investments including an artificial graphite anode plant by POSCO Chemical, a battery recycling plant and a cathode plant.
※ Photo description: POSCO Chemical signed an investment agreement for cathode materials business with Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Pohang city at the Pohang City Hall on July 8, 2021. From the left, Vice Chairman of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council Kim Hee-soo, Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo, POSCO Chemical CEO Min Kyung-zoon, Pohang City Mayor Lee Kang-deok, and Chairman of Pohang City Council Jeong Hae-jong.
※ Photo description: POSCO Chemical signed an investment agreement for cathode materials business with Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Pohang city at the Pohang City Hall on July 8, 2021. From the left, Vice Chairman of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council Kim Hee-soo, Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo, POSCO Chemical CEO Min Kyung-zoon, Pohang City Mayor Lee Kang-deok, and Chairman of Pohang City Council Jeong Hae-jong.