POSCO Pilbara completes Gwangyang lithium hydroxide plant

South Korea's POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution Co., a subsidiary of POSCO Group, said on Friday the completion of its second rock-based lithium hydroxide plant at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province.

With this, the company has achieved an annual production capacity of 43,000 tons of lithium hydroxide for secondary batteries, enough to produce approximately one million electric vehicles.

POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution, a joint venture established in 2021 by POSCO Holdings and Australian mining company Pilbara Minerals with an 82:18 shareholding ratio, imports lithium ore from Australia to produce lithium hydroxide for secondary battery materials in South Korea.

The second plant's completion comes just a year after the first plant was inaugurated in Nov. 2022. POSCO Holdings secured a stable supply chain by investing in a 4.75% stake in Pilbara Minerals in 2018 and signing a 20-year contract to procure lithium ore from the company’s Pilgangoora mine.

The company applied POSCO Group's proprietary lithium extraction technology in the first plant, while the second plant utilizes a commercially proven lithium extraction method widely adopted by leading lithium producers in Australia and China.

POSCO's proprietary technology, which leverages the principle of electrodialysis, allows for the recovery and reuse of secondary raw materials while generating minimal by-products.

Commercial technology offers the advantage of being widely validated. By operating both plants, POSCO-Pilbara aims to strengthen its technical foundation and flexibly expand operations in response to changing market conditions.

The lithium hydroxide produced by POSCO-Pilbara is free from geopolitical risks as it uses Australian raw materials and is processed domestically in South Korea. This makes it easier to navigate regulatory environments in key markets like the US and the EU while expanding market reach.

POSCO-Pilbara plans to supply up to 30,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually to POSCO Future M, starting with 20,000 tons.

Last Friday, the company signed its first long-term contract with SK On to supply up to 15,000 tons over three years. POSCO Group also plans to enlist more domestic and international clients by leveraging advantages such as shorter delivery times and reduced logistics costs.

With the 25,000-ton annual capacity from the first phase of its salt lake lithium project in Argentina and the newly completed 43,000-ton capacity from the rock-based lithium plants, POSCO Group has established a total annual production capacity of 68,000 tons of lithium hydroxide. 

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com