POSCO continues to contribute to the growing steel industry by producing large amounts of high-quality steel for its partners, and has its sights on non-steel businesses as well. The continued efforts to stay ahead of global trends, provide solutions to partners as well as to produce the highest quality steel are what keep POSCO in the top ranks.

Here are 6 more memorable highlights from 2017 so far.

1. POSCO’s First Lithium Extraction Plant

On February 7th, POSCO opened its first lithium extraction plant, PosLX at Gwangyang Works in Korea. It is expected to produce 2500 tons of lithium carbonate per year, making POSCO the first company to produce lithium on a commercial scale in Korea.

The opening ceremony of PosLX

Traditionally, the process of extracting lithium takes 12 to 18 months. In comparison, POSCO’s new, sustainable technology only requires as little as 8 hours up to a maximum of one month to extract high-purity lithium. The materials produced at PosLX will supply LG Chem, Samsung SDI and POSCO ESM, a subsidiary company that specializes in cathode materials for secondary batteries.

2. Leading Supplier of Electric Steel Plates

On February 20, POSCO opened its newly-expanded, non-oriented silicon steel facility for producing environmentally-friendly electric vehicle drive motors. The expansion increased POSCO’s output of non-oriented silicon steel (Hyper NO) from 80,000 to 160,000 tons, making POSCO the leading supplier of electric steel plates both domestically and internationally.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon at the non-oriented silicon steel facility (Source: MK News)

The demand for environmentally friendly vehicles is growing, and with it the demand for top-grade electric steel plates. In 2020, the projected demand for such parts will reach more than 1 million tons. POSCO has its eyes on the market, aiming to develop high-quality, customized materials for electric vehicle manufacturers.

3. Release of POSCO’s GIGA STEEL Ad

In March, POSCO ran a nationwide TV ad for POSCO GIGA STEEL in Korea to showcase the superiority of POSCO’s next-generation automotive steel material. This is the first time POSCO put out a specific steel product and not the company brand at the forefront of an ad campaign. In order to convey the strength and light weight of the product, the advertisement included a strength test comparing GIGA STEEL to aluminum. The test proved POSCO GIGA STEEL to be over three times stronger than aluminum.

4. Commercialization of a High Manganese Steel Production Technology

In April, POSCO commercialized the world’s first high manganese steel production process technology using molten manganese ferroalloy (FeMn). This technology takes place at PosLM (POSCO Liquid Manganese), a heat insulation facility that can store high-purity molten ferromanganese alloy. The technology boosts profitability by reducing the processing time by half and increasing production efficiency by more than 10 percent using a non-solid type of molten iron.

Hot Liquid Steel

5.  Completion of 7CGL for POSCO GIGA STEEL

On April 26, POSCO completed the world’s first steel plate factory specifically for GIGA STEEL. 7CGL, which has an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons, is attracting attention as the world’s first factory to produce both GA (hot-dip galvannealed) and GI (hot-dip galvanized) steel plates among 1.5-class automobiles. POSCO secured its position as a global automotive steel plate maker through the completion of 7CGL, its 12th steel plate factory. POSCO has been able to reduce investment costs and secure cost competitiveness by carrying out both factory design and construction internally.

Opening ceremony for 7CGL (Source: Business Korea)

6. Completion of POSCO’s Steel Forming Laboratory

On May 11, POSCO completed their Steel Forming Laboratory at the POSCO’s Global R&D Center in Songdo, Korea, built to provide customized support for partners. POSCO is building a one-stop development system from technology development to production verification. At the core of this program is the advanced customer-oriented research infrastructure that can evaluate products in advance and develop leading technologies in a production environment similar to that of POSCO’s customers. This development will further strengthen POSCO’s solution marketing 2.0.

The Steel Forming Laboratory at POSCO’s Global R&D Center

Despite a difficult market environment, POSCO continues to provide high-quality steel products for its partners through close cooperation and customized research. Additionally, POSCO’s expansion into non-steel sectors will not only bring added value, but help POSCO stay ahead of the changes the fourth industrial revolution will bring.  

Below we take a closer look at POSCO’s recent developments in lithium extraction and rechargeable battery production. Technological innovations have helped POSCO emerge as a leader in the industry as it seeks to make each step of the process more sustainable, more affordable, and less wasteful.

POSCO Innovates Lithium Extraction and Production

Over 94% of the global lithium supply comes from just three places: South America (44%), Australia (36%), and China (14%). This is because most lithium is found in naturally occurring brines at high altitudes and with little rainfall. Brines are underground reservoirs of dissolved salts containing elements such as lithium, potassium, and sodium.

To extract lithium from these brines, the salt water must be pumped to the surface into evaporation pools. Once on the surface, the brine is concentrated through solar evaporation techniques and then processed to remove impurities and separate the lithium – a process which can take anywhere from 12-18 months.

The Pozuelos Salt Lake in Argentina are one of the few places in the world where lithium can be extracted from brine.

Lithium can also be extracted from hard rock like spodumene. This process is much faster than extraction from brine; however, it is also much more expensive (up to double the cost) and requires a wide range of hydrometallurgical processes.

Realizing the potential growth of the lithium market, POSCO began to develop new extraction technologies in 2010. This new chemically-based lithium extraction technology is able to reduce extraction time while also improving efficiency and reliance on overseas imports. The first pilot program began in 2013, and in February of this year, POSCO became the world’s first corporation to commercialize chemically-based lithium extraction technology.

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While traditional lithium extraction takes anywhere from 12-18 months, POSCO’s new method shortens the time frame to anywhere from eight hours to one month while also offering a purity rate of 99.9% and increasing the lithium recovery rate to over 80%. Also, typical brine extraction by evaporation is a resource heavy process, and POSCO’s advancements help to make it a much more sustainable venture, using less water and resources.   

Finding Alternative Sources of Lithium

The electric car industry is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. By 2040 it is expected that electric vehicles (EV) will have up to 47% penetration with consumers. EVs powered by rechargeable batteries will put an added burden on the already stretched lithium supply. Therefore, efforts to expand lithium sources are under way in order to meet the growing demand.

Today, brine and spodumene are most often used and there have been efforts to process lithium from clays. While that process has not yet been commercialized, last month Lithium Australia successfully extracted 94% to 99% lithium from clay deposits in Mexico.

POSCO CEO Kwon Ohjoon holds lithium on his visit to PosLX, POSCO’s new factory that is expected to produce enough lithium for 70 million laptop batteries.

Also, earlier this year POSCO opened its PosLX plant, which is expected to produce 2,500 tons of lithium carbonate per year. That amount is enough to manufacture about 70 million laptop batteries. What is unique about PosLX is that they are currently obtaining their lithium phosphate, a raw material of lithium carbonate, by extracting it from wasted rechargeable batteries. In extending the life cycle of these dead batteries, POSCO is helping to make an already sustainable energy source even more eco-friendly.

More Sustainable Battery Production

In addition to POSCO’s endeavors to find more sustainable ways to produce lithium, they are also becoming directly involved in battery production. In April of this year, POSCO CEO Kwon Ohjoon announced plans to build a smart factory that would be capable of producing anode materials for rechargeable batteries.

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POSCO Chemtech has already expanded its production capacity to 6,000 tons per year, but with the newly announced plant, it will have the capacity to produce 30,000 tons per year with over KRW 200 billion in sales. Also, since the beginning of this year, POSCO has been mass-producing PG-NCM (POSCO Gradient Nickel Cobalt Manganese), the high-capacity cathode material for low-speed electric vehicles.

From smartphones to cars, the future will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, and as more and more industries come to rely on these rechargeable batteries, advancements in lithium production are crucial in order to keep greener forms of energy available and affordable. With new developments in this area, POSCO is already leading in both lithium production and tech innovation, and well-positioned to be a global leader in more sustainable development.  

*Cover image courtesy of the World Steel Association

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