Additional Factory Construction Planned by 2033...
EcoPro Innovation announced on the 11th that it has signed a long-term supply contract for lithium hydroxide with Samsung SDI.
Through this contract, EcoPro Innovation will supply 154,000 tons of lithium hydroxide to Samsung SDI's domestic and Hungarian plants by 2033.
EcoPro Innovation possesses lithium hydroxide conversion technology used in cathode materials and, in October 2021, became the first in Korea to successfully mass-produce lithium hydroxide for secondary batteries by refining, converting, and pulverizing lithium. The produced quantity is supplied to EcoPro BM and Samsung SDI.
In addition to this contract, EcoPro Innovation is in discussions with overseas automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and secondary battery companies, striving to expand export volumes.
EcoPro Innovation stated, "We are receiving significant market attention as we can produce products compliant with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)."
EcoPro Innovation is also developing lithium extraction technology. In June 2021, EcoPro Innovation signed a long-term supply contract for 7,000 tons annually of industrial-grade lithium carbonate to be produced in Nevada, USA, with Australian lithium company Ioneer. In October last year, they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) related to lithium mine development in Nevada and agreed to jointly develop technology to extract lithium hydroxide from lithium clay.
According to the agreement, if research and development are successful, EcoPro Innovation and Ioneer plan to build a lithium hydroxide conversion plant in North America. Upon construction of the conversion plant, Ioneer will provide lithium clay mined in Nevada free of charge to EcoPro Innovation and collaborate on the business by sharing profits from lithium hydroxide production.
Since October 2021, EcoPro Innovation has been operating a commercial lithium hydroxide manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 13,000 tons, producing battery-grade high-purity lithium hydroxide using industrial lithium carbonate and recycled lithium as raw materials.
Furthermore, after completing the second plant on the Pohang campus in March, EcoPro Innovation is planning to build a new third plant within the Pohang Blue Valley complex to smoothly supply additional contracted volumes with Samsung SDI. Additionally, EcoPro Innovation is constructing a factory in Hungary, aiming for completion by the end of this year, to establish production bases not only domestically but also overseas.
If domestic and overseas plant construction proceeds smoothly, EcoPro Innovation's lithium hydroxide production capacity will increase to 79,000 tons by 2028.
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