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POSCO Chemical, a leading company in coal chemistry and carbon materials, is set to spend $240.8 million or around ₩281 billion to set up two battery materials factories in China. It was reported that these will be the firm’s very first production facilities for its electric vehicle battery business outside of South Korea.
According to The Korea Herald, POSCO Chemical is aiming to build a 30,000-ton cathode plant and a 30,000-ton precursor factory that will be an addition to its existing production base Tongxiang city that was launched in August 2019. This is being jointly run by POSCO and Huayou Cobalt, a local company.
The new plants are expected to be completed by 2023 and these will boost the company’s yearly capacity to produce cathodes and precursors in China. The estimated numbers are 35,000 tons for each of the plants and these are said to be enough to power at least 390,000 electric vehicles that are fitted with 60-kilowatt-hour battery packs.
“Posco Chemical will take preemptive actions on the fast-growing market and speed up its investments,” Min Kyung Joon, POSCO Chemical’s chief executive officer said in a statement.
“By manufacturing both cathodes and anodes, Posco Chemical will create synergies and take a leading role in the value chain of the battery industry.”
It was added that the chemical company is also aiming to reach 160,000 tons of cathode production capacity in South Korea and additional 110,000 tons outside of the country. As the company expands and does more businesses overseas, POSCO is also considering opening a new office in either the United States or Europe.
The Korea Times noted that the firm is investing as part of its strategy in developing its business to adapt to the global shift to environmentally-friendly businesses while maximizing its steel production expertise. The decision to invest in China was made during a board meeting that was attended by all the company’s directors.
"We will act preemptively and speed up the pace of our investments in tandem with the rapidly-growing market," CEO Min said in another statement. "We will accordingly help POSCO play a leading role amid the restructuring of global value chains in the battery business."
