POSCO FUTURE M

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  (Picture) The POSCO Group’s lithium production demo plant and brine reserve facility in Argentina.

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  (Picture) The groundbreaking ceremony for phase 1 construction of the brine lithium plant in Argentina by the POSCO Group. (POSCO Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi in the middle.)

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  (Picture) The groundbreaking ceremony for phase 1 construction of the brine lithium plant in Argentina by the POSCO Group. (POSCO Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi in the middle.)

- The POSCO Group will establish a 93,000-ton production system from a brine lake and ore lithium by 2024.
- POSCO Chemical is set to become self-sufficient in all lithium required to produce cathodes by 2024, securing unrivaled competitiveness.
- The POSCO Group is the sole global cathode manufacture that boasts both lithium mining rights and large-scale production system.
- POSCO Chemical CEO Min Kyung-zoon said, “The winner of the raw materials business will also be the winner of the battery materials business.”

POSCO Chemical significantly boosted their business competitiveness in battery materials, thanks to the investment in lithium by the POSCO Group.

Lithium, nicknamed white petroleum, is a raw material that is used for cathodes and it generates electricity by going back and forth between the positive and negative electrodes inside the battery. The rapid growth of the EV market* has spurred a hike in international lithium prices by more than five times in the past year alone. This increase in volatility in lithium prices is making having a stable supply of lithium more important than ever. Lithium takes up the highest share among all raw materials for cathodes, and approximately 0.46 tons of lithium is required to produce one ton of cathodes that are used in high-performance EVs.
*International lithium price (provided by KOMIS): Increased from 84RMB/kg as of March 2021 to 473RMB as of March 2022.

By 2024, the POSCO Group will secure a lithium hydroxide production capacity of 93,000 tons a year, which is equivalent to an amount that can be used in 2.2 million electric cars. POSCO also plans to obtain an annual production capability of 50,000 tons by 2024 through an additional investment this year in the brine lithium plant in Argentina for which the company held a groundbreaking ceremony on March 23, 2022 attended by POSCO Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi, among others. From the ore lithium plant in Gwangyang by POSCO Lithium Solution, POSCO expects to manufacture 43,000 tons of lithium a year starting in 2023.

If POSCO Chemical is supplied with lithium made by the POSCO Group, the company will be able to procure the 91,000 tons of lithium needed to produce 225,000 tons of cathodes a year by 2024, boosting the self-sufficiently rate to 102%.

Moving forward, the POSCO Group will continue to expand its lithium business by increasing the size of lithium production from the salt lake in Argentina in connection with POSCO Chemical’s investment plan in cathodes.

The POSCO Group is the sole global cathode company that has both lithium mining rights and a large-scale production system. This is expected to not only contribute to the stable supply of raw materials for cathodes, but to also improve product quality and profitability to help them secure unparalleled business competitiveness.

Hombre Muerto, a salt lake in Argentina, is confirmed to have 13.5 million tons of lithium, and boasts of having the highest productivity in the world, with a high concentration level of lithium and relatively low impurities compared to other salt lakes in the country. POSCO Chemical is expected to significantly reduce production time and boost yield by applying the POSCO Group’s proprietary lithium extraction technology.

The lithium hydroxide produced by the POSCO Group is used in high-nickel cathodes designed to improve electric vehicle range, and it is anticipated that POSCO Chemical will further spur the development of battery materials and expansion of the market targeting high-performance EVs.

POSCO Chemical CEO Min Kyung-zoon said, “The winner of the raw materials business will be the winner of the battery materials business. POSCO Chemical will increase its market share through robust marketing targeting global battery manufacturers based on our competitiveness in raw materials as secured with the group’s support.”

Accordingly, POSCO Chemical is focusing on enhancing business competitiveness by making an investment in raw materials. In March, POSCO Chemical began construction of a new precursor factory in Gwangyang that is capable of producing 100,000 tons of precursors a year. Precursors are intermediate raw materials for cathodes, which are essential for battery production. The company also began investing in spherical graphite, an intermediate raw material for anode materials, and pitch for coating, while internally producing needle cokes, a raw material for artificial graphite anode materials, as part of an all-out effort to boost competitiveness in raw materials.

In 2021, the POSCO Group acquired a stake in Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation, a nickel smelting company based in Australia, and won rights for graphite produced in Tanzania, while also launching a battery recycling business to accelerate efforts to strengthen the raw material value chain.