Posco Chemical to expand battery cathode production in China
Through a joint venture with Huayou Cobalt
Posco Chemical is planning to expand its battery cathode production in China through its joint venture with Huayou Cobalt, TheElec has learned.
ZPHE, the pair’s battery cathode joint venture, has begun the second phase of its investment, people familiar with the matter said.
It is one of the two ventures formed by Posco Chemical and Huayou Cobalt __ the other one produces precursors.
Posco Chemical said last year in August that it plans to invest 281 billion won to expand its cathode and precursor production rate by 30,000 metric tonnes a year.
The second phase investment by ZPHE will increase its annual cathode production rate from 5,000 metric tonnes to 35,000 metric tonnes.
It will go into commercial production during the first half of next year.
The cathode produced by ZPHE will be supplied to Chinese and South Korean battery makers.
The supply of nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM) oxide cathode to LG Energy Solution is expected to increase the most, the people said.
LG Energy Solution has a cylinder battery factory in Nanjing which mostly supplies to Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai.
Poso Chemical is aiming to produce 160,000 metric tonnes of cathode per year in South Korea by 2025. It plans to produce 110,000 metric tonnes of cathode per year globally by 2025 as well.
The chemical company is also planning to produce nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum (NCMA) oxide cathode, which is used mostly by Samsung SDI.