POSCO breaks ground on lithium hydroxide plant in S.Korea

POSCO Holdings Inc., the holding company of the world’s sixth-largest steel maker,held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday to mark the commencement of construction for a lithium hydroxide production facility.

The factory, located at the Yulchon 1 Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province, is part of the POSCO Group's strategic plan to establish an extended value chain encompassing battery raw materials like lithium and nickel, material production and recycling of used batteries.

The event saw the participation of Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group, Kim Myung-hwan, President of LG Energy Solution and other officials from pertinent organizations and local governments.

The new lithium factory is projected to manufacture 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually, an amount sufficient for producing approximately 600,000 electric vehicles. 

The total investment for the project is estimated at 575 billion won ($451 million), and the factory is expected to be fully operational by 2025. Fundraising, construction, and operation of the factory will be managed by POSCO Lithium Solution, a wholly-owned subsidiary of POSCO Holdings.

In a pioneering move, POSCO Holdings became the first domestic company to venture into commercializing lithium in Argentina with its acquisition of a salt lake in Salta in 2018.

The company confirmed that the new factory is part of an investment in Argentinean lithium brine announced last October. Lithium hydroxide production will be domestic, while the process to produce lithium carbonate, the precursor to lithium hydroxide, will be based in Argentina at the salt flat owned by POSCO Holdings.

By 2028, POSCO Holdings aims to ramp up lithium production to a maximum of 100,000 tons by leveraging its Argentinean salt flat. The POSCO Group is constructing the spodumene lithium ore factory of POSCO-Pilbara Lithium Solution within the Yulchon Industrial Complex and is operating the electrode material factory of POSCO Future M Co. and the used battery recycling factory of POSCO HY Clean Metal, aiming to develop a production hub for battery materials.

"We will enhance our global resource competitiveness, including lithium and take the lead in domestic material localization, contributing to the development of domestic industries, including the battery sector," Choi said. 

Write to Mi-Sun Kang at misunny@hankyung.com