South Korean secondary battery materials maker POSCO Chemical announced on July 8 that it will built a new cathode materials plant to meet rising demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
POSCO Chemical, North Gyeongsang Province and Pohang City held an investment agreement ceremony for the establishment of cathode materials plant at Pohang City Hall on July 8. Min Kyung-joon, CEO of POSCO Chemical, Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Chul-woo and Pohang Mayor Lee Kang-deok attended the signing ceremony.
POSCO Chemical plans to invest about 600 billion Korean won from 2022 to build a cathode material plant with an annual capacity of 60,000 tons on 120,000 square meters of land in Pohang City's Yeongilman General Industrial Complex.
Once the plant is built, POSCO Chemical will secure an annual production capacity of 160,000 tons of cathode materials in Korea along with Gwangyang and Gumi plants.
"The annual production capacity will be enough to supply 1.8 million EVs with 60kwh battery packs," said company.
POSCO Chemical plans to build 110,000 tons of cathode materials plants overseas annually by making speedy investments not only in Korea but also in the U.S., Europe and China. If this is carried out, Korean and foreign production capacity will increase to 270,000 tons by 2025.
POSCO Chemical has been working with POSCO to develop resources such as lithium, nickel, and graphite materials, make preemptive investments to expand its mass production capabilities, and research and development of next-generation materials such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum.
POSCO Chemical President Min Kyung-joon said, "We will lead the K-battery industry by establishing the world's highest competitive production base in Gyeongsangbuk-do and Pohang."
