Posco Future M to co-build nickel plant in the Philippines

Battery material supplier Posco Future M will produce nickel in the Philippines in cooperation with a local mining company.

Posco Future M President Kim Jun-hyeong, left, and MC Group Chairman Michael Chen during a signing ceremony for the construction of a joint nickel production plant in the Philippines on Thursday. [POSCO FUTURE M]

Battery material supplier Posco Future M will produce nickel in the Philippines in cooperation with a local mining company.

Posco Future M said Friday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Nickel Prime Solutions Inc. (NPSI), a nickel production subsidiary under Michael Chen Group (MC Group), to jointly build a production facility for mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), which is an intermediate nickel product used for producing cathode materials. The two companies plan to establish a joint venture in the Philippines for the project.

For the first time, Posco Future M will directly operate a battery material production facility overseas, according to the company.

MHP will be produced with a technology currently under development jointly by Posco Future M and Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology, which the company expects will boost cost efficiency and cut carbon emissions by some 50 percent. MC Group will supply nickel to the joint plant.

Posco Future M, which was renamed from Posco Chemical in February, aims to boost its cathode capacity to 1 million tons by 2030, around a 10-fold jump from its current level.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]