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)

Diversifies portfolio to include LMR and LFP in addition to existing ternary high-nickel cathode materials

POSCO Future M signed an MOU with CNGR on the 8th at the POSCO Center in Daechi-dong for pursuing the LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) cathode material business.

CNGR’s Korean subsidiary, FINO, also participated in this MOU. The three companies will cooperate on the construction of LFP cathode material production facilities for ESS (Energy Storage System) and joint marketing, as per the agreement.

POSCO Future M signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) with CNGR in 2023 to cooperate on precursor production and established C&P Advanced Technology* the following year. This MOU aims to rapidly expand the scope of cooperation from precursor production to LFP cathode materials at the C&P Advanced Technology.

* C&P Advanced Technology ownership structure: CNGR 51%, FINO 29%, POSCO Future M 20%

LFP batteries have a lower output compared to ternary batteries, such as NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese), but offer advantages of low cost and long lifespan. Recently, they have been increasingly applied in various fields, including ESS and entry-level electric vehicles.

In particular, ESS does not have stringent space and output requirements compared to electric vehicles, and it requires a long lifespan; therefore, the preference for LFP batteries has been increasing even more recently. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), LFP batteries held approximately 80% market share in the global ESS market as of 2023.

POSCO Future M is diversifying its cathode material product portfolio to respond more actively to changing customer needs. POSCO Future M primarily produces high-nickel NCMA (nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum) and NCA (nickel-cobalt-aluminum) for premium electric vehicles, and completed development of LMR (lithium-manganese-rich) cathode materials for entry and standard-grade electric cars in the first half of this year. Additionally, since March, the company has been pursuing research and development by organizing a task force (TF) jointly with POSCO Holdings Future Technology Research Institute for the commercialization of high-density LFP cathode materials with higher energy density compared to general-purpose LFP cathode materials.

From now on, POSCO Future M plans to continuously expand its global customer base in the automotive and battery industries, leveraging diverse cathode and anode material product portfolios, strengthened manufacturing capabilities, and supply chain competitiveness at the POSCO Group level.

▲ POSCO Future M signed an MOU with CNGR and FINO for LFP cathode material business development on the 8th at the POSCO Center in Daechi-dong. From left: CNGR Vice Chairman Zhu Zongyuan, POSCO Future M Energy Materials Business Division Head Yoon Tae-il, FINO CEO Li Bin.

Set to be a game-changer in entry-level and standard EV markets being encroached by LFP… GM and Ford successively announce official adoption of LMR batteries

33% higher energy density compared to LFP provides driving range advantage, with high post-use recycling value expected to rapidly replace the market

Feasible to utilize existing NCM cathode material production facilities, enabling rapid market entry

POSCO Future M has completed the development of LMR (Lithium Manganese Rich) cathode materials, which will serve as a game-changer in the entry-level and standard electric vehicle markets, and is now moving forward with securing mass production technology.

Global automakers have recently been drawing market attention by successively announcing plans to launch electric vehicles equipped with LMR batteries. On the 13th, GM officially announced that it would launch electric vehicles using LMR batteries starting in 2028. Ford also revealed plans for LMR battery commercialization before 2030 and disclosed that it is currently conducting pilot production of second-generation LMR batteries.

LMR batteries are rapidly emerging as next-generation batteries as they can compete on price with LFP batteries that Chinese battery companies are primarily producing while offering superior performance.

LMR batteries can enhance price competitiveness by significantly reducing the expensive use of cobalt and nickel, while increasing the use of inexpensive manganese. Considering that LFP batteries are difficult to recycle, LMR batteries with high lithium recovery rates can have economic advantages as well.

Additionally, they can achieve 33% higher energy density compared to LFP batteries, securing greater capacity, and are expected to rapidly replace LFP market.

Recognizing these advantages, POSCO Future M selected LMR cathode materials as a new flagship product that will be a game-changer in the entry-level and standard electric vehicle markets. The company has been jointly developing commercialization technology with global automakers and battery companies since 2023.

POSCO Future M’s Technology Research Institute consolidated research capabilities with POSCO Holdings’ POSCO N.EX.T Hub, which oversees POSCO Group R&D, and achieved successful pilot production last year through continuous improvements in energy density, charge-discharge performance, and stability. The company plans to secure mass production technology within this year and actively pursue large-scale contract orders.

Recently, the company took a significant step toward mass production readiness by obtaining approval after conducting due diligence in the areas of equipment operation, safety, and the environment, as required for LMR production at the request of customers. POSCO Future M plans to establish mass production capabilities by utilizing existing NCM cathode material production lines without large-scale new investments, enabling timely product supply according to customer requests.

Young-jun Hong, Director of POSCO Future M’s Technology Research Institute, stated, “LMR cathode materials have long been recognized for their potential but faced commercialization difficulties in terms of cycleability, and we have made significant progress through research and development,” adding, “Based on solid trust relationships, we are on the verge of launching products that combine affordable prices with high energy density through collaboration with customers.”

Following this LMR cathode material development, POSCO Future M plans to expand its LMR product portfolio from entry-level and standard to premium and large EV markets by developing next-generation LMR cathode materials with further enhanced energy capacity in collaboration with POSCO Holdings’ POSCO N.EX.T Hub.

▲POSCO Future M researcher is testing the production of LMR cathode material products at Sejong Institute’s pilot plant.