EcoPro to produce battery materials in Canada, Hungary

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Sun, December 3, 2023 | 19:57

Companies

EcoPro to produce battery materials in Canada, Hungary

Posted : 2023-08-24 15:59

Updated : 2023-08-25 15:09

EcoPro's cathode materials plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of EcoPro

By Park Jae-hyuk

EcoPro stepped closer to its goal of leading the global battery materials market through its new manufacturing facilities to be built in Korea, Canada and Hungary, the battery materials firm said Thursday.

The company plans to establish EcoPro Cam Canada, which will handle the construction of a cathode materials plant in Becancour, Quebec.

"The excavation work for the factory has already begun, and the construction will be in full swing once we finish establishing the joint venture with SK On and Ford," said Joo Jae-hwan, the CEO of EcoPro BM, a cathode materials manufacturing unit of EcoPro.

Last week, EcoPro BM agreed with SK On and Ford Motor to invest a combined 1.2 billion Canadian dollars ($888 million) to build the new factory. EcoPro BM will be the largest shareholder of their forthcoming joint venture.

Once the construction is completed in 2026, the new factory will produce 45,000 tons of cathode materials annually, all of which will be supplied to SK On to produce batteries for Ford's electric vehicles.

EcoPro founder Lee Dong-chae, third from left, shakes hands with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Korean firm's cathode materials factory in Debrecen in this April file photo. Courtesy of EcoPro

In Hungary, EcoPro BM began to build a cathode materials plant in Debrecen in April, with the aim of starting mass production in 2025. The factory's annual production capacity will reach 108,000 tons.

EcoPro's other affiliates ― EcoPro Innovation and EcoPro AP ― are respectively in charge of hydrating lithium and supplying nitrogen and oxygen for the Debrecen project.

Once the construction is completed, EcoPro will be the only Korean cathode materials producer to possess a manufacturing plant in Europe.

The company has also expanded its production capacity in Korea by deciding to invest 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) over the next five years in the construction of the Blue Valley Campus in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, which will produce and recycle battery materials.

pjh@koreatimes.co.kr

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