Synergistic Benefits Expected from POSCO Future M’s Materials Technology and Factorial’s Network of Automakers in Korea, Europe, and North America

Explosive Growth in All-Solid-State Battery Applications Expected in Next-Generation Mobility as well as Physical AI Markets, including Humanoids

POSCO Future M is investing in Factorial, a US-based all-solid-state battery company, to lead the future battery market.

POSCO Future M signed an investment agreement with Factorial Inc. on January 7th and completed the investment payment on 26th. This further strengthens their partnership, following the MOU signed by the two companies in November of last year for the development of all-solid-state battery technology.

Through this investment, POSCO Future M plans to prepare for the explosive growth of the all-solid-state battery market, while Factorial will secure a stable supply of high-quality all-solid-state battery materials and strengthen its battery manufacturing competitiveness.

Hong Young-Jun, Head of Technology Research Laboratory, stated, “Both companies have developed materials technology through a close and continuous partnership. This further developed partnership will enable us to secure unrivaled competitiveness in line with the rapidly growing all-solid-state battery market.”

Factorial, a leader in the all-solid-state battery industry headquartered in Massachusetts, is pursuing an IPO on the US stock market. In Korea, it operates a pilot plant for all-solid-state batteries in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and is actively expanding its business.

Factorial’s all-solid-state battery platform, Solstice, is known for its superior energy density and safety. Based on this leading technology, it has established partnerships with major automakers in Korea, Europe, and North America. The combination of Factorial’s network competitiveness and POSCO Future M’s materials technology is expected to generate synergy in the future partnership between the two companies.

All-solid-state batteries, which utilize solid electrolytes instead of conventional liquid electrolytes, offer superior energy density and safety, drawing attention as a game changer in the battery market. POSCO Future M has been conducting sample testing of all-solid-state battery cathode materials with Factorial, and among many materials suppliers, POSCO Future M’s materials have been evaluated as superior in terms of quality, including output characteristics.

The all-solid-state battery materials currently being developed by POSCO Future M are expected to find significant applications in next-generation mobility, such as autonomous electric vehicles and urban air mobility (UAM), as well as in physical AI markets, such as humanoids and robotics.

According to global market research firm Statista, the physical AI market is projected to grow from $5 billion (approximately 7 trillion won) in 2020 to $64.3 billion (approximately 94 trillion won) in 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 23.3%. Morgan Stanley projects the global humanoid market to reach $5 trillion (approximately 7,000 trillion won) by 2050, exceeding the semiconductor market by six times by 2025.

POSCO Future M possesses material design and coating technologies optimized for all-solid-state batteries. As part of the POSCO Group, the company is continuously expanding its portfolio of all-solid-state battery materials, including sulfide-based solid electrolytes and silicon and lithium metal anode materials with superior energy storage capacity.

▲ An employee at POSCO Future M’s Technology Research Laboratory in Sejong operates pilot equipment for cathode material trial production.

▲ Aerial view of POSCO Future M’s Pohang cathode material plant