EcoPro to invest $1.44 bn in Pohang Blue Valley industrial complex

[Courtesy of EcoPro]

EcoPro, a major South Korean battery materials company, is fast-tracking its investment efforts in the Pohang region. Following a recent agreement with the government to establish a ‘Special Opportunity Development Zone,’ the company has begun to detail its roadmap and take subsequent actions.

EcoPro announced an additional investment of 2 trillion won ($1.44 billion) over the next five years in the Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex on Wednesday. This new investment follows its previous investment in the Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex in the region. Currently employing around 2,300 people in Pohang, EcoPro expects to directly employ up to 4,000 people once the Blue Valley project is completed.

The Blue Valley Industrial Complex will feature eco-friendly and productivity-enhancing new technologies. EcoPro plans to use these advancements at its overseas production sites in Canada and Hungary as well. The new method, known as the ‘Closed Loop Eco System,’ integrates the entire production process of secondary battery cathode materials, from recycling used batteries to producing cathode materials, within a single complex.

This system, which maximizes cost reduction and production efficiency, is considered a key competitive edge that has propelled EcoPro to the forefront of the global cathode materials industry. According to EcoPro, this system is gaining attention as a benchmark for both Korean and international battery companies and automakers.

EcoPro subsidiary EcoPro CnG recently began constructing infrastructure for a pre-processing plant in the Blue Valley Industrial Complex, making it the first among EcoPro affiliates to do so.

“Once it is completed in 2027, the plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of 24,000 tons,” a company official said, adding that “other subsidiaries are also planning to sequentially invest in the Blue Valley Industrial Complex.”

The government designated Pohang, where EcoPro’s production base is located, as the first Special Opportunity Development Zones in June 2024 along with seven other areas. This designation is part of a government initiative to attract large-scale corporate investments to regional areas by providing a package of tax, financial, and regulatory incentives.

EcoPro has invested around 2 trillion won in 500,000 square meters of land in the Yeongil Bay Industrial Complex since 2016, creating an ecosystem capable of producing 150,000 tons of battery cathode materials annually.

“We will use Pohang as the ‘mother factory’ to transfer our successful know-how to production sites in Canada and Hungary,” EcoPro CEO Song Ho-jun said.