POSCO to Start Production of High-Purity Nickel for Secondary Batteries

New 20,000-ton High-Purity Nickel Plant Established in Gwangyang... Supply Possible for 500,000 Electric Vehicles
Goal to Supply 100,000 Tons of Nickel Independently by 2030
Group Company SNNC Produces Nickel Mats... POSCO Manufactures High-Purity Nickel

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO is set to start producing high-purity nickel for secondary batteries.

POSCO has decided to establish a high-purity nickel refining plant for secondary batteries with an annual capacity of 20,000 tons (based on nickel content) by 2023 through investments linked to the existing facilities of its group company SNNC.

The high-purity nickel refining project promoted by POSCO involves wet refining nickel matte with 75% nickel purity to produce and sell high-purity nickel for secondary batteries with a purity of over 99.9%. SNNC, a POSCO group company that smelts ferro-nickel for stainless steel (STS) raw materials, will add a de-ironing process to its existing facilities to produce nickel matte, and POSCO will refine this to produce high-purity nickel. The total investment by the POSCO Group is approximately 230 billion KRW, and the plant will be located on the Donghoan site adjacent to SNNC at the Gwangyang Steelworks. The 20,000 tons of high-purity nickel produced at this plant will be enough to supply 500,000 electric vehicles.

According to reports from global market research firms such as WoodMac, the global electric vehicle market, which exceeded 3 million units last year, is expected to rapidly grow to over 32 million units by 2030. Accordingly, the demand for high-purity nickel, an essential raw material for high-capacity battery cathodes, is also expected to grow rapidly at an average annual rate of 23%, with supply shortages anticipated after 2025.

In response, POSCO plans to proactively secure high-purity nickel and enhance the differentiated competitiveness of the POSCO Group's secondary battery material value chain by selling it to companies such as POSCO Chemical.

Following the successful acquisition of a 30% stake in Ravensthorpe, an Australian nickel mining and refining specialist, in May, POSCO is now one step closer to its 2030 goal of self-supplying 100,000 tons of nickel through this new high-purity nickel plant investment.

Meanwhile, POSCO Group, which is the only company in the world to produce both cathode and anode materials and supply their key raw materials?lithium, nickel, and graphite?has established a secondary battery material value chain. By 2030, it plans to self-supply 220,000 tons of lithium and 100,000 tons of nickel, and establish a production system of 400,000 tons of cathode materials and 260,000 tons of anode materials, aiming to achieve a 20% global market share and annual sales of 23 trillion KRW in the secondary battery materials sector.