POSCO Future M strikes ₩6 trillion LFP 'big deal' with Samsung SDI, emerges as key supplier

[Financial News] POSCO Future M has signed a major long-term supply contract with Samsung SDI for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials worth ₩6 trillion. The deal more than doubles the supply volume agreed in August, just over two months ago. Expanding its supply range beyond ternary cathode materials to include LFP, LMO and artificial graphite anodes has strengthened its position as a key supplier of secondary battery materials to Samsung SDI.
POSCO Future M disclosed on the 6th that it had signed a long-term contract with Samsung SDI to supply a range of secondary battery materials, including LFP cathode materials. The key point of the deal is that it more than doubles the 190,000 metric tons of LFP cathode materials the companies agreed to supply for 2027–2032 last August. The contract is worth approximately ₩6 trillion.
In particular, the companies have brought cooperation that had been conducted separately for each material into a single, comprehensive supply system. They amended an existing supply contract signed in 2023, expanding the products covered from a focus on NCA cathode materials to include LFP. They plan to broaden their cooperation further to include lithium manganese oxide (LMO) cathode materials and artificial graphite anodes.
As a result, POSCO Future M’s projected supply volume to Samsung SDI will increase by about 45% compared with the existing contract. The deal structure, previously limited to a single cathode material, now encompasses multiple cathode materials and anodes, effectively establishing a bundled supply system for secondary battery materials.
The agreement is also significant in terms of responding to tightening battery supply-chain regulations, particularly in the United States. Samsung SDI will be able to secure a stable supply of Non-PFE (non-prohibited foreign entity) cathode and anode materials, reducing its dependence on supply chains subject to restrictions, such as those in China. With long-term volumes secured, POSCO Future M will also be able to increase factory utilization and plan capacity expansions and raw material procurement more precisely.
In Korea, POSCO Future M has a materials portfolio that enables it to supply not only ternary NCA and NCM cathode materials, but also LFP and LMO cathode materials and natural and artificial graphite anodes. Its ability to supply a broad range of materials for electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS) without relying on any particular battery chemistry is seen as a competitive strength.
POSCO Group’s raw-material value chain is also helping lay the groundwork for expanding long-term contracts. The group has built a supply chain stretching from raw materials, including lithium brine deposits and graphite mines, to cathode and anode materials. Last July, it also unveiled a “Triple Core” growth strategy built around industrial resources centered on steel; strategic resources such as lithium, cathode and anode materials, and rare earths; and energy resources such as LNG and renewable energy.
POSCO Future M plans to use its collaboration with Samsung SDI as a springboard to expand supply contracts with global battery and automakers. With capacity utilization pressures continuing across the battery materials industry amid the EV slowdown, the company is seen as having improved earnings visibility by securing large long-term volumes ahead of competitors.
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter