South Korean firm Posco Holdings on 13 June broke ground at its lithium hydroxide plant for secondary battery materials at the Yulcheon Industrial Complex in South Korea's South Jeolla province.
The plant has an expected production capacity of 25,000 t/yr of lithium hydroxide, according to Posco, which is sufficient for the production of 600,000 units of electric vehicles. The firm plans to invest around 575bn South Korean won ($451mn) to complete its construction by 2025.
The plant is part of the second phase of investment that Posco announced in October 2022. The downstream process of producing lithium hydroxide will be situated domestically, while the upstream process of producing the lithium carbonate raw material for lithium hydroxide will be in Argentina.
It will tap on the lithium reserves from its salt lake in Argentina's Hombre Muerto, which is located on the Salar Hombre de Muerto salt flat between Salta and Catamarca provinces. The salt lake, operated by its subsidiary Posco Argentina, contains a reserve of around 13.5mn t of lithium carbonate equivalent.
Posco plans to invest further to expand its lithium production from the salt lake by up to 100,000 t/yr by 2028.
"We will enhance the global competitiveness of lithium and other key resources, lead domestic material localisation and contribute to the development of domestic industries, including the secondary battery sector," said Posco Group's chairman Choi Jeong-Woo.
Australian lithium miner Pilbara in January reported progress on its 43,000 t/yr lithium hydroxide monohydrate facility in South Korea's Gwangyang, which is a joint venture with Posco. The facility was on schedule and budget, with the first train expected to begin commissioning from late 2023, and the second train from March 2024.
