SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — POSCO Chemical Co., an affiliate of South Korea’s steel giant POSCO Group, said Wednesday it will expand production capacity of cathodes, a key component for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
POSCO Chemical said the move will boost its annual production capacity of cathodes to 70,000 tons by 2022, which is enough to manufacture about 840,000 electric vehicles equipped with 60 kWh battery packs.
Currently, POSCO Chemical has an annual cathode production capacity of 30,000 tons and 10,000 tons at its plants in the southern city of Gwangyang and the southeastern industrial city of Gumi, respectively.
The latest move came three months after POSCO Chemical expanded production capacity to meet growing demand for cathodes.
POSCO Chemical has said it plans to supply cathodes to EV battery facilities in South Korea, Europe, China and the United States.
The EV battery market has been on a roll as automakers around the world race to go electric and eco-friendly due to tightened regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are to blame for global warming.
(Yonhap)