Construction of POSCO’s plant will begin in the first half of this year, and is expected to have an annual production capacity of 43,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, enough to produce about 1 million electric vehicle batteries.
(Source: koreaittimes)
POSCO, the world’s fifth-largest steel producer by production, said on April 14 that it would build a factory in Korea to extract lithium hydroxide, a key ingredient in electric vehicle battery (EV).
POSCO’s announcement said last week that the Board of Directors approved a plan to complete a factory in the industrial city of Gwangyang in southern Korea by 2023.
The plant, which will start construction in the first half of this year, is expected to have an annual production capacity of 43,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, enough to produce about 1 million electric vehicle batteries.
POSCO said they plan to import spodumene for the extract lithium hydroxide at the factory above from Australia.
In addition, POSCO plans to start building another plant near the Salar del Hombre Muerto salt lake in northern Argentina in the coming months. The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 25,000 tons of lithium.
POSCO purchased lithium mining rights in Argentina from Australian mining company Galaxy Resources for $ 280 million in 2018. Currently, the steel producer has the mining rights for 22,800 hectares of the area.
According to POSCO, the site is confirmed to have lithium reserves of 13.5 million tons, enough to produce batteries for about 370 million electric cars.
The South Korean giant steel giant has stepped up its activities in the electric vehicle segment in recent years as part of its business diversification strategy.
In February 2021, POSCO Chemical, a subsidiary of POSCO, announced plans to invest 275.8 billion won ($ 248 million) to expand the production capacity of cathode, a key component for batteries. EV for a factory in Gwangyang.
In addition, POSCO Chemical also plans to set up factories in China and Europe to promptly supply cathode to EV battery manufacturers.
The EV battery market is on a strong momentum as automakers around the world are racing to convert to electric and eco-friendly vehicles.
This wave comes in the midst of tightening regulations on greenhouse gas emissions by governments – which scientists say is the cause of global warming.
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