South Korea’s Posco Chemical Company said it expected to be able to procure in-house all the lithium it requires to meet its planned production of electric vehicle (EV) battery cathode materials by 2024, thanks to the extensive investments being made by the wider Posco group.
Posco is fast establishing itself as a major supplier of battery materials for the global EV industry to diversify itself from its predominantly steel manufacturing operations. Posco Chemical said it would be able to source in-house 91,000 tons of lithium hydroxide to meet its annual production target of 225,000 tons of cathode materials by 2024, enough to power 2.2 million EVs.
The company revealed its plans following last week’s announcement of a US$830m investment to build a new lithium hydroxide (LiOH) extraction plant near the Salar del Hombre Muerto salt lake in northern Argentina – where it also has major lithium mining concessions.
The plant will have an initial production capacity of 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide by 2024 and there are plans to increase this to 100,000 tons at a later stage.
Last year the company said it was investing KRW230bn (US$194m) in a plant in the South Korean city of Gwangyang with initial capacity to refine 20,000 tons of nickel-sulphate per year. That followed announcement of a new lithium hydroxide plant in the same city capable of producing 43,000 tons per year from 2023.
Posco Chemical also signed a joint venture agreement last year with General Motors to build a battery materials plant in North America while other projects also been agreed in China.
The company said it planned to have a global annual production capacity of 280,000 tons of cathode materials by 2025, rising to 420,000 tons by 2030.