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POSCO Future M starts shipping battery material from Pohang plant
POSCO Future M employees applaud at the company's plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Nov. 27, as a truck commences the company's first delivery of single-crystal cathode material produced at the factory to Ultium Cells, a U.S. battery joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors. Courtesy of POSCO Future M
By Park Jae-hyuk
POSCO Future M began to ship single-crystal cathode material produced at its plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, following its supply of the battery material for high-performance electric vehicles (EVs) from its factory in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, the company said Wednesday.
The nickel-rich cathode material produced at the Pohang plant will be sent to Ultium Cells, a U.S. battery joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors.
In March, the POSCO Group affiliate became the world’s first company to successfully mass-produce single-crystal cathode material, based on its advanced technology.
“In response to soaring demand, we started the mass-production at our Pohang plant in November, two months earlier than initially planned,” POSCO Future M explained.
Its single-crystal cathode material enables a vehicle to travel longer distances and enhances a battery’s thermal stability and durability, as the material is created by combining nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum into a single particle shape, which can improve energy density.
The global demand for the material is growing rapidly these days, in line with the popularity of high-performance EVs.
POSCO Future M plans to keep adding single-crystal cathode material production lines to its plants worldwide, so as to maximize the mileage of EVs, as well as their safety and durability.
The company is also considering mass-production of the material with different particle sizes.
As a result, the annual production capacity of its Pohang cathode materials plant is expected to rise to 106,000 tons in 2026 from the current 30,000 tons, becoming an important production base for the global battery materials market, along with its Gwangyang plant.