Approval Granted for 43,000-Ton Annual Ore Lithium Extraction Plant in Gwangyang Yulchon Industrial Complex
Capable of Producing 1 Million Electric Vehicles... Over 2 Years of Demo Plant Operation to Build Lithium Production Capacity
Dedicated Lithi
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seonsik] POSCO (Chairman Choi Jeong-woo) announced on the 15th that it has completed verification of lithium extraction technology and will begin full-scale commercialization projects at the Gwangyang Yulchon Industrial Complex.
On the 9th, POSCO reported and received approval from the board of directors for an investment project to build a lithium ore extraction plant with an annual capacity of 43,000 tons in the Gwangyang Free Economic Zone Yulchon Industrial Complex.
The 43,000 tons of lithium is enough to produce 1 million electric vehicles. Since 2010, POSCO has been developing technology to extract lithium from brine and ore in collaboration with RIS (Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology). It has operated a demo plant at the Gwangyang Steelworks for over two years, accumulating know-how for lithium production and training specialized personnel, thereby completing preparations for commercial lithium production.
The lithium extraction plant POSCO is promoting will primarily use lithium ore produced mainly in Australia as the main raw material and will apply in-house developed production processes to configure the production line. Construction is planned to begin in the first half of this year, aiming for completion in 2023.
In particular, the newly built plant will exclusively produce lithium hydroxide, which plays an important role in increasing the driving range of electric vehicles.
Lithium used as a raw material for cathode materials is divided into lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, both of which function to generate and store electricity. Until now, the secondary battery industry has mainly produced cathode materials using lithium carbonate as the main raw material. However, as secondary battery technology has advanced to increase the driving range of electric vehicles, cathode materials containing more than 80% nickel have been developed, and demand for lithium hydroxide used in these materials is gradually increasing.
Meanwhile, POSCO plans to start construction this year on a local plant with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons at a salt lake in Argentina where lithium reserves have recently been confirmed. Through mid- to long-term investments in lithium extraction from ore and brine, POSCO aims to establish a lithium production system of 70,000 tons annually by 2023, 130,000 tons by 2026, and 220,000 tons by 2030.
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