POSCO Chemical released the '2021 Corporate Citizenship Report' on the 6th, and announced that it would achieve carbon neutrality in the battery materials business by 2035.
POSCO Chemical has secured competitiveness in environmental, social and governance (ESG) as a leading battery material company. The company plans to achieve carbon neutrality in the battery materials business by 2035 in order to preemptively respond to the demand for environmentally friendly materials from major auto manufacturers and battery customers.
In order to accomplish this, POSCO Chemical has to first achieve 'RE100' by 2035, which uses all electricity used to produce positive and negative electrode materials as renewable energy. POSCO Chemical plans to reduce carbon emissions in the process by introducing carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCUS) technology in all business aspects including, battery materials, lime chemical, and refractory materials. The company will also increase energy efficiency through conversion of low-carbon raw material and fuel, and improving the process.
Other than battery materials division, the company plan to achieve zero carbon emissions in stages by 2050, considering that the process of manufacturing quicklime produces a lot of carbon dioxide through chemical reaction of raw materials.
The company explained that it is expanding the usage of solar power generation facilities to domestic and foreign anode material plants, and plans to actively utilize renewable energy such as hydroelectric power for 'Ultium CAM’, which is a joint venture for cathode materials with General Motors (GM) in Canada.
POSCO Chemical also plans to use 100% of 'responsible minerals' as raw materials for anode and cathode materials in order to enhance the healthy supply chain. These responsible minerals refer to minerals that are certified to not have any issues with human rights violations and environmental destruction.
The company emphasized that the transparency of the supply chain has been enhanced by establishing a responsible mineral tracking system from raw material mining to finished vehicle manufacturing, and organizing an independent consultative body for the responsible mineral management.
POSCO Chemical is increasing the number of internal and external directors from six to nine to improve the management centered on the board of directors, and improving the governance structure by establishing an audit committee under the board of directors.
The safety management system has also been improved by appointing an inside director for the Chief Safety and Environment Officer (CSEO) for the first time, and a meeting is held every other week to share safety management activity plans and results by the Safety Environment Innovation Committee.
Kyung-joon Min, CEO of POSCO Chemical, said “We will secure competitiveness to lead the battery materials industry in ESG management to respond to the needs of stakeholders and customers through active investment in eco-friendly businesses and R&D.”
By Staff Reporter Tae-jun Park gaius@etnews.com