Battery materials – POSCO to build 1.5 tln-won nickel, precursor factories in South Korea with China CNGR.
POSCO Holdings Inc. said it is spending 1.5 trillion won (US$1.16 billion) with a Chinese partner to build factories in South Korea to produce nickel and precursor for secondary batteries.
POSCO Holdings and POSCO Future M Co., the chemicals and materials-producing unit of the steel giant, signed the joint venture agreements with CNGR Advanced Materials Co. to establish the facilities in the southeastern industrial city of Pohang, the companies said.
POSCO Holdings will build a nickel refining facility under a 6:4 deal with CNGR, while a separate 2:8 venture between POSCO Future M and the Chinese company will construct a precursor plant.
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The factories will each produce 50,000 tons of nickel and 110,000 tons of precursors annually, with which a battery maker can produce cells for use in some 1.2 million electric vehicles (EVs).
A precursor is a specific chemical form containing nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum before it is turned into cathodes, a key secondary battery material that determines the power and range of EV batteries.
Precursors account for 65-70 percent of the cost of cathodes.
Yoo Byung-ok, a vice president at POSCO Holdings, and CNGR Chairman and President Deng Weiming, were present at the signing ceremony earlier in the day.
They aim to break ground on the plants in the fourth quarter of this year and enter commercial operation in 2026.
POSCO said the joint ventures will help ensure the stable sourcing of key secondary battery components, and comply with U.S. requirements for battery production to be eligible for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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POSCO to Build 1.5 tln-won Nickel, Precursor Factories in S. Korea with China’s CNGR, June 21, 2023
