POSCO : completes silicon anode material plant for rechargeable battery materials

The construction of a 550-ton annual capacity silicon anode material (SiOx) downstream process facility for rechargeable battery materials was completed in Pohang on April 19

A comprehensive factory, including the upstream process, is scheduled to be completed in September this year… Establishment of a production system of 25,000 tons annually by 2030

POSCO Future M's silicon-carbon composite (SiC) anode material demo plant is scheduled to start operation in April

POSCO Group has laid the foundation for the next-generation rechargeable battery material business by building a silicon anode material plant.

POSCO Silicon Solution completed the construction of a silicon anode material (SiOx) plant with an annual capacity of 550 tons at the Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex in Pohang on April 19.

The facilities completed this time correspond to the downstream process of the production line. POSCO Silicon Solution has set up an early operational system to respond quickly to customers' demands for silicon anode materials.

Silicon anode material is a next-generation anode material that can improve the driving range and shorten the charging time of electric vehicles due to an increase in energy density by about four times compared to the graphite anode material currently used in most lithium-ion batteries. An annual production capacity of 550 tons is enough to produce 275,000 electric vehicles.

*Silicon anode material is divided into SiOx products, which synthesize oxide-based silicon (SiO₂) into silicon particles, and SiC products, which mix carbon materials with silicon particles.

**Silicon anode material (SiOx) processes consist of an upstream process of synthesizing oxide-based silicon, etc. to silicon particles and
a downstream process of coating the composite using POSCO's unique technology.

According to SNE Research, the global silicon anode material market size is expected to increase from the current level of approximately 10,000 tons to approximately 285,000 tons in 2035.

POSCO Group acquired Terratechnos, a silicon anode material technology startup, in July 2022 to strengthen the anode material portfolio and preemptively respond to increasing demand, changed its name to POSCO Silicon Solution, and began construction of a silicon anode material plant in April last year.

POSCO Silicon Solution plans to complete the full production line, including the upstream process, in September this year, and the goal is to produce 25,000 tons of silicon anode material annually by 2030.

Moreover, POSCO Group plans to produce silicon-carbon composite (SiC) anode materials. POSCO Future M plans to begin the operation of the demo plant for the silicon-carbon composite anode material in the Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex in Pohang at the end of this month and provide solutions optimized for each customer's silicon anode material needs.

POSCO Group plans to strengthen the full value chain of rechargeable battery materials by continuously increasing the competitiveness of next-generation rechargeable battery materials such as silicon anode materials, lithium metal anode materials, and solid electrolytes, as well as the rechargeable battery raw material business such as lithium and nickel and the anode and cathode material business.

▲ A panoramic view of POSCO Silicon Solution's silicon anode material plant completed at the Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex in Pohang on April 19.

▲POSCO Silicon Solution executives and employees, including the CEO Jae-woo Lee (fifth from the right in the second row), take a commemorative photo in front of the silicon anode material plant completed on April 19.