POSCO Chem breaks ground for battery material plant

South Korea’s POSCO Chemical Co. started construction of a battery material plant in the country as a part of its plan to boost production capacity to meet increasing demand in line with the growth in the global electric vehicles.

POSCO Chemical on Thursday broke ground for the factory to produce 30,000 tons of high-nickel cathode materials with an investment of 290 billion won ($237.8 million).

The company aims to begin commercial operations in 2024 with a plan to double the capacity to 60,000 tons by 2025, which is enough for batteries equipped in 600,000 EVs. That is expected to generate annual sales of 2.5 trillion won.

Once the plant is completed, POSCO Chemical’s domestic cathode material capacity is set to rise to 160,000 tons. It also aims to secure the material’s capacity of 115,000 tons in North America, China and Europe by 2025.

“POSCO Chemical built up a value chain including raw ingredients and commercial production of the materials in cooperation with POSCO Group,” said Min Kyung-Zoon, CEO of POSCO Chemical.

The new plant in Pohang, about 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will produce quaternary Ni-rich nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum (NCMA) single crystal cathode materials, which have better strength and thermal stability. A battery cell high in nickel content offers longer mileage and shorter charging time than existing batteries.

POSCO Chemical already developed products that contain 90% of nickel while planning to complete test production of batteries with 96% of nickel in the second half.

Write to Jeong Min Nam at peux@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.