Kang Kyung-sung, 1st Vice Minister, Visits Pohang Secondary Battery Complex
Meeting with Representatives of Resident Companies Including POSCO Future M
On the 17th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that First Vice Minister Kang Kyung-sung, in his first field visit since taking office, visited the Pohang Secondary Battery National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialized Complex, held a meeting with major companies within the complex, and toured the country's only artificial graphite anode factory. The meeting was attended by Kim Jun-hyung, CEO of POSCO Future M, Kim Jae-ho, CEO of Woojeon J&F, and Park Jae-hong, CEO of PM Grow.
Pohang announced the largest domestic secondary battery investment plan of 12.1 trillion KRW by 2027 when it was designated as a specialized complex last year. Since the designation, an additional investment of 3.1 trillion KRW is under consideration. Pohang is home to major domestic secondary battery material companies and supply chain companies such as POSCO Future M and EcoPro.
The POSCO Future M artificial graphite anode factory visited that day is the only artificial graphite production plant in Korea and is attracting attention as a key facility to respond to major countries' supply chain strengthening policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Artificial graphite is a product that can be fully localized from raw materials to final products by using coal tar, a byproduct of POSCO's steelmaking process, as raw material.
Kang Kyung-sung, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy [Image source=Yonhap News]
POSCO Future M currently has an annual production capacity of 8,000 tons and plans to expand it to 18,000 tons this year. By the end of 2025, it plans to invest an additional 40 billion KRW to more than double the production scale compared to this year.
At the meeting, Vice Minister Kang said, "Secondary batteries, along with semiconductors, are future growth engines of our economy and advanced industries directly linked to economic security, so it is very important to secure a robust supply chain." He added, "To this end, the government will spare no support in finance, taxation, research and development (R&D), and regulatory improvements."
Vice Minister Kang also stated, "This year, we will supply 5.9 trillion KRW in policy finance to the secondary battery sector and prepare comprehensive support plans for each specialized complex to actively support the secondary battery industry." He added, "In particular, to support the Pohang specialized complex, we will promptly implement infrastructure, manpower, and R&D projects worth more than 15 billion KRW throughout this year."
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