[Specialized Complex] Battery Industry to Invest 30 Trillion Won in Secondary Battery Specialized Complex by 2030

Investment Accelerates Following Designation of Secondary Battery Specialized Complex
Completing the Ecosystem Value Chain Including Mineral Processing and Recycling

With Cheongju, Pohang, Saemangeum, and Ulsan designated as specialized secondary battery complexes, the battery industry is accelerating its planned investment of 30 trillion won by 2030. The industry expects these specialized complexes to create a domestic battery ecosystem value chain and serve as a foundation for the development of next-generation batteries.

Employees at LG Energy Solution's Ochang plant are showcasing the long-cell battery developed by LG Energy Solution.

LG Energy Solution has announced a 4 trillion won investment in production facilities in Cheongju. The goal is to develop the Ochang Energy Plant in Cheongju into a global technology hub for battery manufacturing called the 'Mother Factory.' The Mother Factory is characterized by its capability not only for simple pilot production of products applying next-generation design and process technologies but also for verifying mass production feasibility. In particular, production facilities for cylindrical batteries (4680), adopted by automakers including Tesla, will be added.

In Saemangeum, LG Chem and Sungil Hitech are preparing investments. LG Chem plans to produce precursors through a 1.2 trillion won joint investment with China's Huayou Cobalt. By 2028, production facilities with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons will be established. Sungil Hitech will build a plant to extract key minerals such as nickel and cobalt from used batteries.

In Ulsan, Korea Precursor, a joint venture between LG Chem and Kemco, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc, will establish dedicated production facilities for precursors, which are key materials for cathode active materials. Korea Precursor is expected to have a production capacity of 20,000 tons by 2024 and achieve sales of 400 billion won in 2025. The company is considering expanding capacity to 50,000 tons in the future.

Aerial View of POSCO Future M Pohang Anode Material Plant

POSCO Group and EcoPro are making large-scale investments in Pohang. POSCO Group will secure production facilities for nickel and precursors for secondary batteries in partnership with China's CNGR. The investment scale is 1.5 trillion won. POSCO Holdings and CNGR will establish a nickel refining corporation with a 60:40 share ratio to produce nickel sulfate, while POSCO Future M and CNGR will establish a precursor production corporation with a 20:80 share ratio to produce precursors. CNGR is the world's leading company in the precursor market share.

EcoPro is also investing 2 trillion won in Pohang to build the 'Blue Valley Campus,' a cathode material hub. This is the second cathode production base in the Pohang area following the Eco Battery Pohang Campus completed in 2021 in the Yeongilman General Industrial Complex. The current cathode material production capacity of 180,000 tons will be expanded to 710,000 tons by 2028. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, with operations targeted for the second half of 2025. Employment effects of at least 1,100 jobs are expected.

The battery industry expects that if the planned investments are implemented, the domestic battery ecosystem value chain connecting 'mineral processing (Saemangeum) - materials (Pohang) - cells (Cheongju? Ulsan) - recycling (Saemangeum)' can be completed. Additionally, centered around the Korea Battery Industry Association, they plan to actively identify difficulties and support needs to concretize customized package support for each specialized complex and propose these to the government.