Posco Chemical investing over $500 million for new cathode plant in Pohang

Posco Chemical is looking to build a new cathode factory that will rise in Pohang, North Gyeongsang province. Once completed, the plant is expected to produce 60,000 metric tons of cathode per year.

As per The Korea Herald,m Posco is set to invest around ₩600 billion or $524 million for the construction of the plant that will begin next year. The building will sit on the 120,000 square meter land located inside an industrial complex in the said province in South Korea.

The company’s newest cathode plant

The factory in Pohang will be Posco Chemical’s third facility in the country. It already has the same cathode factories in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, and Gumi, North Gyeongsang. Once all three are operating all at once, they will have the capacity to produce at least 160,000 tons of cathode materials per year.

This amount is said to be enough to power at least 1.8 million units of electric vehicles that are fitted with 60-kilowatt-hour battery packs. Posco is aiming to complete its third plant by 2025.

“Posco Chemical will establish overseas cathode plants that can produce a total of 110,000 tons to increase the global production capacity to 270,000 tons by 2025,” one of the company officials stated.

Posco’s goal for the future

Cathodes are required for the production of lithium-ion batteries. It is one of the four main materials to make this type of battery that is commonly used to power electric vehicles.

Cathode materials make up 40% of the production cost of an electric vehicle battery. This material is made of nickel, manganese, cobalt, and lithium.

Korea Joongang Daily reported that Posco Chemical is also planning to open more plants outside of South Korea. The company is considering setting up facilities in China, the United States, and Europe, which are the three biggest EV markets in the world. Currently, the company has yet to buy lands for its overseas plants.

Finally, Posco Chemical’s major aim is to bring its cathode to the global market and be able to produce 270,000 tons by the year 2025. When this happens, the Korean firm is hoping to be one of the world’s largest suppliers.