POSCO Group has partnered with China's leading cathode material company, Ningbo Ronbay New Energy, to collaborate on battery-grade lithium supply and the overall battery materials business.
On August 19, POSCO Holdings signed a strategic agreement with Ronbay Group at the POSCO Center, agreeing to cooperate across the entire battery materials value chain, from lithium supply from ore and brine to recycling used batteries.
Ronbay Group has been a leader in the high-nickel cathode material sector for several years and is currently expanding its product portfolio to include ternary, lithium iron phosphate, lithium manganese iron phosphate, and sodium-ion batteries.
Under this agreement, the two companies will work together to supply battery-grade lithium, including lithium from POSCO Group's POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions (located in the Yeulchon Industrial Complex) and brine lithium produced by POSCO Argentina, as well as lithium extracted from used batteries by POSCO HY Clean Metal.
In particular, the two companies plan to complete quality certification procedures for battery-grade lithium hydroxide based on ore lithium produced by POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions by the fourth quarter of this year, laying the groundwork for future mass production.
Additionally, they will collaborate to establish a resource recycling system, focusing on used battery recycling. POSCO HY Clean Metal is already supplying nickel, cobalt, and manganese to Ronbay Group's factory in China and its domestic precursor subsidiary, EMT, and plans to strengthen resource recycling cooperation to establish a closed-loop system for global used battery resource recovery and recycling.
Since the leadership of Chairman Jang In-hwa, POSCO Group has successfully implemented a proactive and sustainable investment strategy centered on resources in its battery materials business while simultaneously strengthening its order base by identifying new demand in promising markets.
POSCO Group stated, "We will continue to collaborate with Ronbay Group to diversify our LFP product portfolio and expand cooperation into battery materials for ESS and other applications."
Meanwhile, Chairman Jang announced a new growth strategy for the group in July, aiming to reorganize the business portfolio around resources, extending beyond steel to lithium and energy, and contributing to national industrial security and supply chain strengthening.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.