poscofuturem

- Board approves investment in LFP cathode material plant on the 15th... capacity to expand to 50,000 tons

- Construction at Pohang Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex 4 through CNP New Material Technology, a joint venture with CNGR-FINO

- Partial conversion of existing Pohang cathode material lines from NCM to LFP to begin supply from late 2026... early entry into LFP market aligned with market and customer demand

POSCO Future M is building a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material plant in response to rapidly growing ESS market demand.

POSCO Future M held a board meeting on the 15th and approved a proposal to build a dedicated LFP cathode material plant at Pohang’s Yeongil Bay General Industrial Complex 4. The company plans to break ground in 2026 and begin mass production in the second half of 2027, with all LFP cathode materials from the facility dedicated to ESS applications.

POSCO Future M will proceed with the construction of the LFP cathode material plant through additional investment in CNP New Material Technology, a joint venture established with CNGR in 2023, with plans to expand capacity to a maximum of 50,000 tons. POSCO Future M signed an MOU in August with CNGR and FINO, CNGR’s Korean subsidiary, to pursue the LFP cathode material business for ESS applications and has since been conducting business reviews.

While LFP batteries have lower power output than ternary batteries such as NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) and NCA (nickel-cobalt-aluminum), their lower cost and longer lifespan have driven adoption across various applications, including ESS and entry-level electric vehicles.

As demand for LFP batteries for ESS applications has surged in the North American market, major battery manufacturers are converting existing ternary battery production lines to LFP lines and seeking rapid supplies of Korean-made materials. POSCO Future M currently focuses on producing ternary cathode materials such as NCM and NCA, and the LFP plant investment approval is expected to further diversify the company’s cathode material product portfolio and strengthen its global competitiveness.

Additionally, to achieve early entry into the LFP market in response to market and customer demand, POSCO Future M plans to convert portions of its existing ternary NCM cathode material production lines at the Pohang cathode material plant to LFP cathode material production lines and begin supplying materials by the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, POSCO Future M is actively diversifying its product portfolio to address rapid growth in the EV and ESS markets and increasingly segmented customer needs. Following announcements by global automakers including GM and Ford in the first half of this year regarding plans to adopt LMR batteries, POSCO Future M completed pilot development of LMR cathode materials in collaboration with the POSCO N.EX.T Hub, which oversees POSCO Group R&D, and in the second half of the year completed pilot development of ultra-high-nickel cathode materials for premium electric vehicles and high-voltage mid-nickel cathode materials.