Posco Future M breaks ground on new cathode plant in Pohang

Posco Future M President Kim Joon-hyeong, center, and other officials take a photo at a groundbreaking ceremony of a cathode plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, Friday. [POSCO FUTURE M]

Ground was broken Friday on Posco Future M's high-nickel cathode plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang.

The plant is the battery materials company's first factory for nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) cathodes.

Sitting on a 16,000-square-meter site, the plant will have 30,000 tons of production capacity starting in 2025, enough to power 30,000 electric vehicles.

Posco Future M invested 392 billion won ($293 million) in the factory.

NCA cathodes are known for their efficiency in maximizing a battery's energy density and output. Cathodes are one of four core materials in batteries that play a vital role in deciding the price of a battery because they account for up to 40 percent of a battery's cost.

The investment in the new plant comes as the company signed a 40-trillion-won and 10-year supply deal with Samsung SDI in late January.

"The NCA cathode plant will be the new beginning point for the future of Posco Future M," said Posco Future M President Kim Joon-hyeong.

Posco Chemical recently renamed itself Posco Future M to better capture its focus on the battery material business.

Posco Future M aims to boost its cathode capacity to 340,000 tons in 2025 and 610,000 tons in 2030. The company currently has a 90,000-ton facility in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, a 10,000-ton facility in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, and a 5,000-ton facility in China.

It is also building a 30,000-ton cathode plant in Quebec, Canada, with General Motors and another 30,000-ton plant in Zhejiang, China, in a joint venture with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]