POSCO to build largest solid electrolyte plant for batteries

POSCO Group, the world’s sixth-largest steelmaker, said on March 14 it has started construction on a solid electrolyte manufacturing facility in Yangsan city, about 420 kilometers southeast of Seoul. This is the first investment in the group’s new business after it launched the holding company POSCO Holdings Inc. early this month to ramp up eco-friendly future materials production.    

The holding company and JK, a Korean solid electrolyte material manufacturer, established the POSCO JK Solid Solution joint venture in February and have prepared for construction since then. The JV will found the new plant, which will begin producing up to 24 tons of solid electrolytes annually from the second half of this year. The production volume, which is for 1,000 units of electric vehicles, will be the largest in the world.

Solid-state technology has been in the spotlight since lithium-ion batteries, which most EVs are using, have some issues such as the risk of catching fire, analysts said. The technology has the potential to deliver faster charging times and make the packs safer by eliminating the flammable electrolyte solution used in lithium-ion batteries, the Wall Street Journal quoted auto executives and analysts as saying last September. The solid electrolyte battery market is expected to expand in earnest in 2030 when the relevant technologies enter the maturity stage.

The secondary battery materials division is among POSCO Group’s seven core businesses along with steel, lithium & nickel, hydrogen, energy, construction & infrastructure and agricultural biotechnology. Having started the solid electrolyte material business last year, the group aims for joint technology development with global battery companies.  

By 2030, the group aims to establish a system capable of producing 420,000 tons of cathodes and 260,000 tons of anodes as well as reach a global market share of 20%. Early this month, the group's chemical unit POSCO Chemical Co. and US top automaker General Motors Co. unveiled a plan to construct a battery material plant in Canada. The chemical company and GM planned to invest $400 million from 2023 in the joint venture factory in Bécancour, Quebec to produce cathode active materials, the two companies announced. The plant is set to have an annual capacity of 30,000 tons.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.