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<Cosmo Advanced Materials Chungju Factory>

Cosmo Advanced Materials will begin large-scale expansion of nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NCM) cathode materials, which arethe core materials for electric vehicle batteries.

Cosmo Advanced Materials announced on the 19ththat theyare planning to invest 150 billion KRW by the end of 2023 at its headquarters in Chungju to expand the production of NCM cathode materials.

The company explained that when this investment is completed, the NCM cathode material production capacity will increase from the current 20,000 tons to 70,000 tons. The expansion of the NCM facility was expanded more than originally planned. Cosmo Advanced Materials raised its expansion plan for its Chungju plant from 30,000 tons to 50,000 tons.

NCM cathode material is a core material for electric vehicle batteries. Batteries made of high-nickel NCM cathode material play a role in increasing the energy performance of electric vehicle batteries and lowering the manufacturing cost. Accordingly, the demand NCM cathode material is increasing rapidly aroundthe electric vehicle batteries.

Cosmo Advanced Materials is expanding the supply of cathode materials for electric vehicle batteries with LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI. Nickel 50-60% NCM cathode material is the main product, and it is preparing to supply high-nickel NCM cathode material to LG Energy Solution in the second half of the year.

The high-nickel NCM cathode material has high technical difficulty, therefore domestic battery cathode material makers are establishing their own a mass production system. Cosmo Advanced Materials, L&F, EcoPro BM, and POSCO Chemical are expanding their supply mainly to the three domestic battery companies.

The company also aims to secure production capacity for precursors, the main raw material for cathode materials. It was decided to internalize precursors by building a precursor production plant in Ulsan and having their own production capacity. It is expected that the faster the supply of raw materials, the easier it will be to produce products and the better the quality will be.
 
By Staff Reporter Jiwoong Kim (jw0316@etnews.com)