S.Korea's EcoPro boosts raw material plant for cathode materials

South Korea's EcoPro Co., a leading cathode supplier for global battery makers, is expanding its plant for raw materials used in secondary battery cathodes in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

On Tuesday, EcoPro's affiliate, EcoPro Innovation, commenced construction on the second high-purity lithium hydroxide material (LHM) plant at the Eco Battery Pohang Campus in Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex after a groundbreaking ceremony attended by about 30 executives and employees, including EcoPro Chairman Lee Dong-chae and EcoPro Innovation CEO Kim Yoon-tae.

EcoPro Innovation plans to complete the second LHM plant, spanning over 15,854 square meters, by the second half of this year. This expansion will double the company's annual lithium hydroxide production capacity from 13,000 tons from the first plant to 26,000 tons. With this increase, the company expects to ramp up its sales to about 2.1 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in 2024.

High-purity lithium hydroxide is a critical raw material for secondary battery cathodes, which are seeing a surge in demand thanks to the growing electric vehicle market.

"Lithium is a material used in all types of secondary batteries, and the demand for electric vehicles is exploding due to the recent expansion of the electric vehicle market. We expect that the construction of LHM Plant 2 will supply lithium hydroxide for high-quality secondary batteries stably to our customers," said EcoPro Innovation CEO Kim Yoon-tae.

Write to Seo-Woo Jang at suwu@hankyung.com