POSCO completes silicon anode material plant for secondary batteries

Attendees participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the POSCO Silicon Solutions completion ceremony held at the Yeongilman Industrial Complex in Pohang on the 7th. (POSCO Holdings)

South Korea’s POSCO Group has completed its production system for silicon anode materials, a next-generation key material for secondary batteries.

POSCO Group announced on Thursday that its battery materials subsidiary POSCO Silicon Solution held a completion ceremony for its silicon anode plant with an annual capacity of 550 tons in the Yeongilman Industrial Complex in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

The capacity can produce batteries for approximately 275,000 electric vehicles.

POSCO aims to expand its annual silicon anode production capacity to 25,000 tons by 2030.

Silicon anode material is a next-generation anode material that can increase energy density about four times more than graphite anodes. It is widely used in lithium-ion batteries, which allows for longer driving ranges and shorter charging times for electric vehicles.

POSCO Group acquired silicon anode technology startup Tera Technos Co. in July 2022 to strengthen its anode portfolio and actively respond to increasing demand and renamed it POSCO Silicon Solution.

The company began construction of its silicon anode plant in April last year, completing the downstream process of coating silicon composites in April this year.

As it now completed the upstream synthesis process for oxide-based silicon, seven months after finishing the coating process plant, POSCO Group now possesses the full production process for silicon composite material, from direct synthesis to coating.

This will enable POSCO to meet customer requirements for battery material performance, such as improved initial charge/discharge efficiency, the company said.

“Silicon anode material is one of the next-generation materials POSCO Group is developing,” said Kim Jun-hyung, head of Secondary Battery Materials Division at POSCO Holdings Inc. “POSCO Silicon Solution will grow into a global company based on its outstanding technology.”

POSCO Group plans to strengthen its competitiveness in next-generation battery materials, including silicon anodes, lithium metal anodes, and solid electrolytes.

It also aims to secure leadership in the lithium raw materials business and anode/cathode materials, in line with its seven future innovation tasks.