POSCO Future M, LG Energy Solution join hands on “future cooperation,” agree to supply 720,000 tons of cathode and anode materials from 2027 to 2033

[Financial News] POSCO Future M will supply LG Energy Solution with a total of 720,000 tons of cathode and anode materials over seven years, from 2027 to 2033.
On the 30th, POSCO Future M said it had signed a “Future Cooperation” memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LG Energy Solution and would expand cooperation to include lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes and artificial graphite anodes. The two companies plan to sign a formal contract by year-end.
The MOU covers cooperation on the supply and development of next-generation products, including LFP cathodes, artificial graphite anodes, ultra-high-nickel cathodes, and materials for sodium-ion batteries and silicon anodes. The two companies plan to finalize product diversification and supply roadmaps and sign a formal contract by year-end.
POSCO Future M plans to expedite the conversion of the high-nickel ternary cathode production line at its Pohang cathode materials plant to an LFP cathode line, and begin full-scale supply of LFP cathodes to LG Energy Solution early next year. The company said demand for LFP cathodes has recently surged amid the expansion of AI data centers and increased sales of affordable electric vehicles. It plans to subsequently develop a new process using lithium from POSCO Group’s salt lakes in Argentina and supply next-generation LFP cathodes with improved cost competitiveness and quality.
The company will pursue measures to improve cost competitiveness in the ternary NCM (nickel, cobalt and manganese) cathodes it has supplied to date by increasing the use of recovered metals extracted from end-of-life batteries over the medium to long term.
Artificial graphite anodes will be produced in South Korea and Vietnam and supplied to LG Energy Solution. POSCO Future M said demand has been steadily increasing because artificial graphite offers advantages for fast-charging performance and longer battery life.
The two companies will also cooperate on the development and supply of future battery materials, including materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), ultra-high-nickel cathodes and silicon anodes. They agreed to seek joint responses if global supply-chain issues are anticipated or arise, such as the introduction of U.S. Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE) rules and the announcement of Europe’s Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA).
Last July, POSCO Group announced its future growth strategy, setting out a vision to establish a “Triple-core” system encompassing industrial resources (steel), strategic resources (lithium, cathode and anode materials, rare earths, etc.) and energy resources (LNG and renewable energy), and to become “the nation’s leading supplier of critical resources.”
A POSCO Future M representative said, “We will strengthen the competitiveness of our cathode and anode materials businesses, drawing on the group’s value chain, including lithium brine deposits and graphite mines, and consolidate our position as a key company in strategic resources.”
[email protected] Kim Dong-chan Reporter