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POSCO Chemical Anodes Become the First to be Awarded EPD Certificate for Battery Materials
2022.01.06
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(Picture) POSCO Chemical Anode Materials Director Kyu-yong Jung and KEITI ESH Division Head Jong-hwan Kim holding the EPD certificate at the EPD award ceremony held in Sejong anode plant on Jan 5.
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(Picture) POSCO Chemical engineers checking the process status of the manufacturing line at Sejong anode plant.
- Taking a low carbon approach in cathodes and anodes production simultaneously to preemptively respond to EUregulations on the mandatory CO2 footprint report and reinforce environmental management for customers.
- Will secure differentiated competitiveness by developing new anode technologies and completing the value chain.
POSCO Chemical was recognized for its outstanding performance with ecological management through an official certification of its environmental impact, such as carbon emissions, during its anode production.
POSCO Chemical earned the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its natural graphite anode materials, an essential material for batteries, from the Ministry of Environment. An award ceremony was held at Sejong factory on January 5, 2022 and was attended by numerous stakeholders including Director of Anode Materials at POSCO Chemical Kyu-yong Jung and Head of the Division of Environment, Safety & Health (ESH) at Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) Jong-hwan Kim.
The EPD is a nationally accredited certification scheme that announces the quantitative environmental impact of the entire process from the mining of raw materials through to production, use and disposal of the finished product. It is used as an indicator for customers when selecting environment-friendly products.
With the certification, POSCO Chemical became the first battery material company to earn the EPD and disclosed its environment performance in seven areas, including the carbon footprint, impact on resources, water usage, impact on the ozone layer, acidification, eutrophication, and photochemical smog generated from the mining of raw materials and manufacturing of anode products.
The amount of carbon footprint emitted from producing 1kg of anodes is 3.24kg, which is equivalent to 175kg when converted into a 60KWh EV.
* Carbon footprint : An indicator showing greenhouse gas emissions generated from the entire production process of a product calculated as the amount of CO₂ emitted.
The EPD certification served as an opportunity for POSCO Chemical to enhance the eco friendliness of the EV industry by revealing the environmental impact of battery materials transparently after preemptively responding to global environmental regulations and the management strategies of battery customers, which are becoming more stringent.
So far, it has not been easy to prove the environment friendliness of all EV product cycles, such as carbon emissions in the production process, despite it being an eco-friendly means of mobility that does not generate greenhouse gasses. This led the EU to make it mandatory for EV makers to report the carbon footprint of their batteries starting in 2024, further strengthening the environmental regulations in the sector.
POSCO Chemical, for its part, has made efforts on various fronts to produce sustainable materials, such as increasing the share of renewable energy, while earning EPD certification in September last year for resource recycling of the graphite powder generated from the anode production process.
The company also plans to acquire EPD for its cathodes in the first half of next year and earn low carbon product certification by reducing carbon emissions in the cathode and anode production process.
Active technological development is also underway to secure competitiveness with differentiated products while boosting leadership in ecological operation initiatives. POSCO Chemical is supplying the low expansion anodes it has developed independently to Ultium Cells, a joint battery venture of GM and LG Energy Solution, just in time for their production schedule. The company is also concentrating its efforts in research to develop new technologies that will lead the battery market, such as silicon anode materials that significantly increase the driving distance of EVs by expanding energy density.
POSCO Chemical is also committed to improving its capability of securing a stable supply of raw materials in the overall value chain. Following POSCO’s acquisition of a stake in a graphite mine, a raw material of anodes, POSCO Chemical has decided to make an equity investment to secure spherical graphite, an intermediate raw material. The company is completing the overall value chain of anodes through the internal production of pitch, which is used to coat anodes, and needle cokes, a raw material for artificial graphite anodes, together with the acquisition of stakes for Sinuo, a manufacturer of artificial graphite anodes in China.
