Energy Transition & Power Demand▲
POSCO Enters LFP Cathode Market With Major Long-Term Supply Deal
POSCO Holdings Inc., through its subsidiary POSCO Future M, has reached a large-scale, long-term supply agreement with a major South Korean battery manufacturer to supply more than 190,000 metric tons of LFP cathode materials over six years from 2027 through 2032, with a formal contract expected in the third quarter of 2026. The agreement marks POSCO's first major LFP cathode-material order and diversifies its battery-materials portfolio beyond high-nickel cathode materials, targeting rising demand for LFP-based energy storage systems in North America driven by AI data centers and utilities. To support the new business, POSCO has converted part of its Pohang facility's existing high-nickel cathode production lines to LFP production, with mass production and supply targeted to begin by the end of 2026, and plans to improve cost competitiveness by using iron oxide from its steelmaking operations and lithium from salt lakes in Argentina. The company is also pursuing additional cathode and anode material supply agreements, and in March secured a long-term contract worth approximately KRW 1 trillion with a global automaker for synthetic graphite anode materials, while investing about KRW 357 billion in a new plant in Vietnam. Separately, CNP New Material Technology, a joint venture between POSCO and FINO-CNGR, began construction of an LFP cathode-material plant in Pohang in May, with mass production expected in 2027 and capacity planned to expand in phases to as much as 50,000 tons annually.