Pohang Chemical's positive and negative materials supply universal Ultium batteries

Foreign media reported that POSCO, a subsidiary of Posco, has signed a supply contract with UltiumCells, a joint venture battery company between General Motors and LG Energy, to supply positive and negative materials for it from next year. Currently, UltiumCellsLLC is building a 30GWh power lithium battery plant in the United States, with a total investment of US$2.3 billion (approximately RMB 16.2 billion) and is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2022. General Motors will develop and mass-produce Ultium batteries at the plant. Ultium batteries are NCMA quaternary lithium-ion batteries. The addition of aluminum reduces the cobalt metal content in the battery by about 70%. This will effectively reduce the production cost of power lithium batteries. . The signing of the positive and negative electrode material supply agreement means that GM's next-generation Ultium battery is about to enter the mass production stage. In order to meet the needs of the downstream market, POSCO is currently actively expanding its anode and cathode material output. The goal is to expand its annual output of cathode materials to 400,000 tons and anode material output to 260,000 tons by 2030, further improving its positive The international market share of anode materials. Behind the supply of UltiumCells for Pohang Chemical's anode and cathode materials, the United States is increasing the construction of its power lithium battery industry chain and LG Energy and SKI have increased their investment in the US battery business, which also provides a good development opportunity for my country's lithium battery material companies. . On the one hand, as demand in overseas markets continues to rise, the increase in shipments of POSCO's cathode materials has driven the export business of my country's ternary precursor companies including Zhongwei, GEM and Hunan Bangpu. On the other hand, in order to ensure a stable supply of raw materials and enhance market competitiveness, POSCO is also strengthening cooperation with my country’s lithium battery materials companies. For example, it established two subsidiaries with Huayou Cobalt to engage in the research and development, production and sales of lithium battery precursor-related materials, and signed a long-term purchase and sale contract with Huayou Cobalt Co., which is worth 7.2-7.6 billion yuan. With the acceleration of the construction of the domestic battery supply chain in the United States and the expansion of battery production by Japanese and Korean battery giants such as LG Energy, SKI, and Panasonic, it is expected that more Chinese lithium battery industry chain material companies will enter the US market in the later period.