POSCO Int'l to produce 2 million EV motor cores
POSCO SPS's mold production facility in Cheonan, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of POSCO International
By Kim Jae-heun
POSCO Group announced a plan to convert itself into a “green mobility” company Wednesday, launching the “green autoparts” brand “e Autopos,” in response to the rapidly growing market for electric vehicle (EV) parts. It will also increase its production of electric motor cores.
Affiliate POSCO International said it will invest 22.9 billion won in Cheonan, Gyeonggi Province, and in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province ― homes to its subsidiary, POSCO SPS ― to build new production facilities for the motor cores.
Its goal is to expand its production capacity in the Korean market from 660,000 per year, to 2 million by 2025, to cope with the growing demand for EVs.
When two additional production lines open, POSCO International will become the country's largest electric motor core maker.
POSCO SPS's factory in Cheonan makes molds, and the new facility will produce motor parts from these after construction is completed at the end of the third quarter of this year. Molding technology is a core skill in manufacturing electric motor cores. POSCO SPS will also expand its molding technology research center ― the only one owned by a local core maker ― in Cheonan.
Its factory in Pohang, which the company aims to finish building in the fourth quarter, will also produce cores.
POSCO International is also eying international markets in the United States, Europe and Asia, and by 2025 it plans to have developed a supply chain that can produce 4 million electric motor cores a year for a 20 percent global market share.
It is considering expanding already existing production lines in China and India, and hiring professional manpower there, while establishing joint ventures in Europe and the United States to localize its overseas businesses.
“We will contribute to the rapidly growing global electric vehicle market by supplying electric motor cores made with the best technology. At the same time, we will continue to increase our production capacity and improve our technology, in order to establish the best system in the market,” POSCO SPS President Kim Hak-yong said.