POSCO Future M Co. announced its plan to reach 3.4 trillion won (US$2.57 billion) in annual operating profit by 2030, driven by the growth in electric vehicle (EV) demand. The chemical unit of South Korean steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc. also set a goal of generating 43 trillion won in sales by the same year. The company’s president and CEO Kim Jun-hyung expressed his confidence in achieving the 1 million-ton milestone in cathode production at a media event.
To reach its mid- to long-term objectives, POSCO Future M will focus on becoming a “total solution provider” in the entire value chain, from the sourcing of minerals to production of materials and recycling. The company plans to increase its annual production capacity of cathodes to 1 million tons by 2030, with around 70 percent of the output from domestic production, while some 240,000 tons will be produced in North America and Europe, and some 65,000 tons from China and Indonesia.
POSCO Future M will also diversify the battery cell types to respond to the increasing demand for nickel-rich NCM or NCA, and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) at the cheaper end as well as high-manganese cells. Additionally, it aims to add more environmentally friendly products to its portfolio in the basic chemicals segment as part of its green transition. The company is looking to make further inroads in the overseas expansion, with Vietnam and Turkey being potential markets.
Founded in 1971 as a POSCO arm, POSCO Future M had primarily engaged in the production of refractories and burnt lime. In recent years, it has been actively transitioning to the secondary battery components business, particularly the materials used to make cathodes and anodes — core materials used in lithium-ion cells for EVs. POSCO Future M boasts of being one of the few companies capable of producing both cathodes and anodes and supplies them to Samsung SDI Co., LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) and Ultium Cells LLC., the U.S. joint venture between LGES and General Motors Co. As of late July, the company had an order backlog of 106 trillion won.