Strengthening Value Chain for Battery Materials Business

POSCO officials hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a high-purity nickel refining plant for secondary batteries at the company's Gwangyang Works on Oct. 14.

POSCO Group has started the construction of a high-purity nickel refining plant for secondary batteries at its Gwangyang Works. 

The group decided to invest in the high-purity nickel refining business for secondary batteries in July last year. It held a groundbreaking ceremony for the refining plant on Oct. 14.

The global electric vehicle market is expected to grow to more than 59 million units in 2030, according to a report by global market research institute SNE Research. High-purity nickel is an essential raw material for high-capacity batteries. Global demand for high-purity nickel is growing at an average annual rate of 20 percent, so a supply shortage is expected beginning from 2025.

POSCO's high-purity nickel refinery will have an annual capacity of 20,000 tons, which is enough to produce batteries for 500,000 electric vehicles. It will be built on a site of 74,000 square meters within Gwangyang Works, with completion slated for the second half of 2023.

In 2006, POSCO Group preemptively invested in a nickel mine in New Caledonia to build a stable nickel supply chain and established Nickel Mining Co. (NMC). It also established SNNC jointly with SMSP, the largest nickel exporter in New Caledonia, in 2006. SNNC produces ferronickel, a raw material for stainless steel, with nickel ores from NMC.

POSCO plans to further strengthen its value chain in the secondary battery material business.

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