POSCO Future M (003670) announced on the 19th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. graphite manufacturer Molten for joint development of natural graphite anode material feedstock using methane gas.
Molten, headquartered in California, is the world's only company capable of producing graphite through methane gas pyrolysis.
The signing ceremony was attended by Hong Young-jun, Head of POSCO Future M Research Institute, Kevin Bush, CEO of Molten, and Caleb Boyd, CTO of Molten.
Under the agreement, Molten will produce graphite through methane gas pyrolysis. POSCO Future M will then process it into spherical graphite through its subsidiary FutureGraph and manufacture natural graphite anode materials at its Sejong plant.
Graphite produced from methane gas contains lower metal impurity levels compared to mined graphite. This allows for reduced refining processes, significantly cutting production costs for natural graphite anode materials.
Additionally, hydrogen generated alongside graphite during methane pyrolysis can be used for power generation or POSCO's hydrogen-based steelmaking, creating synergies across the POSCO Group.
"We have traditionally relied on mined graphite, but by combining both companies' raw material and processing technologies to secure core materials through new methods, we can diversify our supply chain and strengthen competitiveness through cost reduction," Hong said.
