POSCO Chemical announced on the 27th that they are expanding their investment in low-expansion anode material, the core material for EV battery.
POSCO Chemical held a board meeting on the 25th, and decided to increase annual low-expansion anode material manufacturing capacity from 7,000 tons to 35,000 tons.
POSCO Chemical will invest 105.4 billion KRW to change the natural graphite anode material production plant that is under construction in Sejong to a production line dedicated to low-expansion anode materials and start mass production from next year.
The low-expansion anode material is a product developed by POSCO Chemical with their own technology, and it is a material that lowered price but has increased major performance for EV batteries such as safety, lifespan, charging speed, and more.
Anode materials are divided depending on the raw material, and they are natural graphite-based and artificial graphite-based materials. POSCO Chemical uses natural graphite as a raw material, while improving the material structure from plate-shaped to isotropic structure, lowering expansion rate compared to natural graphite-based anode material by 25% and improved 15% of fast charging performance.
They lower the manufacturing cost and improves the environment-friendliness compared to artificial graphite by reducing the amount of carbon emissions generated in the process. This investment was made in order to respond to technological trends such as improving the driving range of electric vehicles and reducing the charging time, as well as increasing orders from global battery and electric vehicle makers.
As the importance of supply chain stability, manufacturing cost, and carbon emission reduction of graphite are becoming more important, they also want to build ‘Full Portfolio’ of producing all of raw such as natural graphite, low-expansion, artificial graphite, and silicon anode materials.
Kyung-joon Min, CEO of POSCO Chemical said, “This investment was made in order to secure a gap in the market by mass-producing differentiated battery materials based on technology. We will produce the best product in order to respond to our customer’s need and contribute to the growth of the electric vehicle industry.”
By Staff Reporter Tae-jun Park (gaius@etnews.com)