Joint venture agreement for LFP cathode material plant construction signed on the 23rd… capacity to expand to 50,000 tons
Accelerating business development with the completion of the joint venture agreement following last week’s board approval
POSCO Future M is accelerating its LFP cathode material business to meet rapidly growing demand in the ESS market for mid- to low-cost battery materials.
POSCO Future M has signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) with CNGR and FINO, CNGR’s Korean subsidiary, for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials. The signing ceremony, held on the 23rd at FINO’s headquarters in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do Province, was attended by Tae-il Yoon, Head of POSCO Future M’s Energy Materials Marketing Division, Liu Xingguo, Vice President of CNGR, Zhu Zongyuan, Vice President of CNGR, Dong-hwan Kim, CEO of FINO, and Dai Zhufu, CEO of CNP New Material Technology.
POSCO Future M established CNP New Material Technology in 2024 as a joint venture with CNGR and FINO to strengthen collaboration in the secondary battery materials business with CNGR and has continued discussions since then. Following board approval of the proposal on the 15th to build an LFP cathode material plant through this joint venture, the company completed the contract signing on the 23rd, accelerating its LFP cathode material business.
With the joint venture agreement in place, POSCO Future M will proceed with the construction of an LFP cathode material plant at Pohang’s Yeongil Bay General Industrial Complex 4. The company aims to break ground in 2026 and begin mass production in 2027, with plans to expand its annual capacity to a maximum of 50,000 tons starting with this investment.
While LFP batteries have lower output than ternary batteries, their cost and lifespan advantages have driven increased adoption across various applications, including ESS and entry-level electric vehicles. This agreement enables POSCO Future M to fully launch its LFP cathode material business to respond to rapidly growing market demand and to strengthen collaboration with CNGR and FINO across all business areas, including production, technology, and marketing.
Separately from this agreement, POSCO Future M plans to convert portions of its existing high-nickel product production lines at the Pohang cathode material plant into LFP cathode material production lines to secure early entry into the LFP market, with supply beginning in the second half of 2026.
▲POSCO Future M signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) with CNGR and FINO for LFP cathode materials on the 23rd. (From left: Dong-hwan Kim, CEO of FINO; Tae-il Yoon, Head of POSCO Future M’s Energy Materials Marketing Division; Zhu Zongyuan, Vice President of CNGR; Dai Zhufu, CEO of CNP New Material Technology)