POSCO will build a 6,000-ton cathode material plant in Gwangyang. POSCO signed a land purchase contract with the Free Economic Zone Authority of Gwangyang Bay on May 29th to construct the cathode material plant.
The site size is 165,287.3 ㎡ (about 50,000 square-meter). POSCO has decided to increase POSCO ESM’s capital to 105 million dollars at its board of directors meeting on May 11th to expand the cathode material plant.
The company plans to complete the construction of the plant by 2019 and also plans to expand the production capacity by 50,000 tons a year by 2022. When combining POSCO ESM Gumi plant’s capacity of 12,000 tons of material, POSCO ESM will be able to produce 62,000 tons of cathode material a year. This is enough to make about 1 million batteries for electric cars.
POSCO expects to generate sales of more than 1.84 billion dollars annually from 2022, when the Gwangyangcathode material plant is completed, and expects to contribute to the regional economy by employing 1,000 direct laborers.
POSCO has decided to add 4,000 tons to the Gumi plant, which currently has a production capacity of 8,000 tons; however, it cannot cope with the rapidly increasing demand for secondary batteries with a capacity of 12,000 tons. Therefore, in order to strategically lead future markets, POSCO has decided to secure the PosLX Plant in Gwangyang, which is a production facility for lithium, a core element for cathode material.
