Completion of 550t/year Silicon Anode Material Downstream Process Facility in Pohang
Exterior view of the silicon anode material factory completed by POSCO Silicon Solution on the 19th at the Yeongilman Industrial Complex in Pohang. Photo by POSCO Holdings
POSCO Group has completed the construction of a silicon anode material factory, laying the foundation for its next-generation secondary battery materials business.
POSCO Silicon Solution announced on the 23rd that it completed the construction of a silicon anode material (SiOx) factory with an annual production capacity of 550 tons at the Yeongilman Industrial Complex in Pohang on the 19th. The newly completed facility corresponds to the lower process among the entire production lines. POSCO Silicon Solution has established an early operation system to promptly respond to customer demands for silicon anode material supply. The silicon anode material (SiOx) process consists of an upper process synthesizing oxide-based silicon such as silicon oxide on silicon particles, and a lower process coating the synthesized material using POSCO's proprietary technology.
Silicon anode material is a next-generation anode material that can increase energy density by about four times compared to graphite anode materials, which are currently mostly applied in lithium-ion batteries, enabling longer electric vehicle driving ranges and shorter charging times. An annual production capacity of 550 tons is enough to produce 275,000 electric vehicles. Silicon anode materials are divided into 'SiOx' products, which synthesize oxide-based silicon (SiO₂) on silicon particles, and 'SiC' products, which mix carbon materials with silicon particles.
According to SNE Research, the global silicon anode material market size is expected to increase from about 10,000 tons currently to approximately 285,000 tons by 2035. To strengthen its anode material portfolio and proactively respond to increasing demand, POSCO Group acquired the silicon anode material technology startup Terra Technos in July 2022 and changed its name to POSCO Silicon Solution. It began construction of the silicon anode material factory in April last year. POSCO Silicon Solution plans to complete the comprehensive construction, including the upper process, by September this year and aims to establish an annual production system of 25,000 tons of silicon anode material by 2030.
In addition, POSCO Group plans to produce silicon carbon composite (SiC) anode materials. POSCO Future M will start operating a silicon carbon composite anode material demo plant located in the Yeongilman Industrial Complex in Pohang by the end of this month to provide optimized solutions tailored to customer-specific silicon anode material demands. POSCO Group plans to continuously enhance its competitiveness in next-generation secondary battery materials such as silicon anode materials, lithium metal anode materials, and solid electrolytes, as well as its raw material business for secondary battery materials including lithium and nickel, and anode and cathode materials, thereby strengthening the secondary battery materials value chain.
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