POSCO Group Ships Korea's First Lithium Hydroxide Product Based on Lithium Ore

Complete Client Certification Within the Year and Fully Launch Product Sales
Targeting Maximum Production of 21,500 Tons

President Lee Kyung-seop (sixth from the left in the front row) and employees of POSCO Philbar Lithium Solution are taking a commemorative photo at the initial shipment site of the spodumene-based lithium hydroxide plant in Gwangseok-ri, Yulchon Industrial Complex, Jeonnam, on the 16th. Photo by POSCO Holdings

POSCO Group has made the first shipment of lithium hydroxide based on ore lithium, achieving the first commercial production in Korea.

POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions announced on the 19th that it supplied 28 tons of lithium hydroxide products to a customer producing cathode materials for secondary battery materials for the first time on the 16th. This is the first case in Korea of commercial production of lithium hydroxide by developing and applying proprietary technology to extract lithium from ore raw materials. By domesticating the production of lithium hydroxide, which was entirely dependent on imports, it has contributed to stabilizing the domestic supply chain of secondary battery material raw materials.

POSCO Group completed the construction of POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions’ lithium hydroxide Plant 1 in the Yeolchun Industrial Complex, Jeonnam, in November last year and is currently conducting a stable ramp-up (production increase).

Going forward, POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions plans to complete quality certification for the production products step-by-step by the end of the year and to actively sell to cathode material and battery companies. Along with gradually increasing shipment volumes during the ramp-up process, it will also supply uncertified products produced during this process to the market for testing purposes, diversifying the global supply chain.

POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions is a joint venture established by POSCO Holdings and the Australian mining development company Pilbara Minerals. Separate from the ramping-up Plant 1, a Plant 2 of the same scale is currently under construction. Once Plant 2 is completed within this year, it will be able to produce a total of 43,000 tons of lithium hydroxide for secondary battery materials annually. The 43,000 tons of lithium hydroxide is enough to produce about 1 million electric vehicles.

Following the ore lithium-based lithium hydroxide plant, POSCO Group is constructing Phase 1 and 2 brine lithium plants with a total capacity of 50,000 tons in Argentina, with Phase 1 scheduled for completion within this year. POSCO Group plans to continue investing to secure competitiveness in the secondary battery material business, a new growth engine for the group, by expanding global lithium production capacity based on accumulated operational technology, engineering, and construction capabilities.