EcoPro BM to began construction of new anode factory next month
It will be dedicated to client Samsung SDI
EcoPro BM will began construction of its new anode materials factory next month dedicated to major client Samsung SDI.
The company has also recently begun investment into its factory dedicated to its other client SK Innovation.
EcoPro BM is also looking to supply anode materials for electric vehicle (EV) batteries directly to automobile manufacturers.
It hopes these multiple projects will help it clinch its goal of annual sales of 4 trillion won by 2024.
The new anode factory will be built at the Youngilman industrial zone at Pohang in September. The factory is dubbed CAM6 and will be run by its joint venture with Samsung SDI called EcoPro EM. It will have an annual production rate of 30,000 metric tonnes when it is completed in 2022. Operations will begin in the first quarter of that year.
Investment into CAM5-N, dedicated to SK innovation, has also begun. EcoPro BM will construct the buildings first. Investment for production lines will be decided at a later date to fall in line with the line change planned for CAM5.
The company is planning to change one of the three lines at CAM5 to produce SK Innovation’s anode material dubbed CSG(over 80% nickel).
EcoPro BM is also looking to diversify its clientele. It is preparing to make a general purpose anode material that adds aluminum to nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM). EcoPro BM CEO Kim Byung-hoon has said there were demands from automobile companies to supply anode materials directly to them.
The company is also planning to invest 1.5 trillion won in the next five years near its Pohang plant to foster an anode material ecosystem, including recycling. Its affiliate EcoPro GEM is planning to build a precursor factory for the anode materials. It is also planning to form a joint venture with Fuan GEM, a subsidiary of GEM, and is discussing stake ratio.
CEO Kim said it expects its annual sales this year to be just short of 1 trillion won.
In the second quarter, EcoPro BM marked 13.9 billion won in operating profits and 189.9 billion won in sales, a rise of 26% and 40% from a year prior. Anode material supply to SK Innovation offset the lowered demand from IT applications.