EcoPro to invest $1.6 billion in Pohang cathode battery complex

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) among EcoPro Group, the North Gyeongsang provincial and Pohang city governments at Pohang City Hall in North Gyeongsang Province on July 13. [Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s EcoPro Group, the world’s No. 1 manufacturer of cathode materials for electric vehicle batteries based on production volume, will invest 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in an industrial complex in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, to boost an ecosystem for developing cathode materials for batteries.

Cathode materials are a crucial component of electric vehicle batteries.

The company said on Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the North Gyeongsang provincial and Pohang city governments at Pohang City Hall to build a new production plant for battery cathode materials.

Under the agreement, EcoPro plans to invest 2 trillion won over a period of five years by 2028 to establish the tentatively named Blue Valley Campus on a site of approximately 694,000 square meters in the Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex. The campus will serve as a value chain hub to facilitate the production of raw materials for batteries, such as cathodes, precursors and battery recycling.

Construction of the facility will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, with the goal of commencing operations in the second half of 2025.

EcoPro plans to apply its Closed Loop Eco-System, a battery value chain completed on the 496,000-square-meter site at the Yeongilman General Industrial Complex in Pohang, to the Blue Valley Campus as well to foster the city as its central hub.

Currently, EcoPro holds the top market share in the global market for cathode materials. With the planned production expansion, EcoPro plans to quadruple its annual production capacity for cathode materials from the current 180,000 tons to 710,000 tons by 2028.

EcoPro completed its Pohang Campus in 2021 by investing around 2.9 trillion won in the Pohang area. The Blue Valley Campus is expected to create employment for at least 1,100 people upon completion.