POSCO Future M has completed the approval process for its synthetic graphite anode material project in Vietnam and is moving forward with full-scale development.
POSCO Future M obtained an Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) for the synthetic graphite anode material business from Thai Nguyen Province at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday. The IRC is an official permit indicating that approval for a foreign company's investment in Vietnam has been completed.
POSCO Future M plans to begin construction of a first-phase plant at the Song Cong 2 Industrial Complex in Thai Nguyen Province in the second half of this year and start mass production in 2028. Customer acquisition for the first-phase investment has already been completed, and a second-phase investment will proceed depending on future additional orders.
POSCO Future M, which is building its first overseas anode material plant in Vietnam, plans to continue strengthening business competitiveness based on global supply chain stabilization through close cooperation with Vietnam and Thai Nguyen Province.
Synthetic graphite anode material is favorable for improving the fast-charging performance and lifespan of batteries, and demand for it is steadily increasing. However, it is considered a key material requiring supply chain diversification due to high dependence on specific countries. In particular, as protectionism intensifies—including the introduction of the U.S. Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE) requirements and the announcement of Europe's Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA)—demand for supply chain stabilization is also growing. In response to this market environment, POSCO Future M has continued negotiations with multiple customers on synthetic graphite anode material supply and has pursued the establishment of a synthetic graphite production base in Vietnam to expand production capacity and enhance business competitiveness.
Vietnam allows for competitive cost structures by lowering expenses such as investment costs, electricity costs, labor costs, and logistics costs. In particular, Thai Nguyen Province is a leading industrial city in northern Vietnam, located near the capital Hanoi, which is advantageous for securing skilled workers, and is also close to the port city of Haiphong, facilitating raw material imports and product exports.
POSCO Future M plans to mass-produce price-competitive products in Vietnam based on manufacturing technology secured through domestic operations, and supply them to global customers. POSCO Future M localized natural graphite anode material in 2011, and in 2021 completed a synthetic graphite anode material plant in Pohang, establishing a mass production system.
Meanwhile, POSCO Group has continued to expand its business in Vietnam centered on steel operations such as POSCO Vietnam and POSCO Yamato Vina since opening its Hanoi office in 1991. Recently, it also established a Vietnamese corporation through POSCO Flow, a subsidiary of POSCO Holdings, to strengthen its logistics supply chain.
POSCO Group plans to expand its business beyond steel to include secondary battery materials through this POSCO Future M synthetic graphite anode material plant investment, contributing to strengthening Korea-Vietnam economic cooperation.
