POSCO Future M said on Sept. 22 that it will supply LFP cathode materials to SK On for three years from 2027 through 2029. The deal can be extended by two more years through 2031 if both sides agree. POSCO Future M has supplied battery anode materials to SK On, and this marks the first cathode materials supply contract between the two companies, broadening their partnership.
With the contract, POSCO Future M will supply both cathode and anode materials to all three major Korean battery makers — LG Energy Solution (373220), Samsung SDI (006400) and SK On.
LFP batteries deliver lower output than ternary batteries such as nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) and nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA), but offer price competitiveness and longer life spans. Demand for LFP batteries used in energy storage systems (ESS) is rising as power consumption surges with the buildout of data centers for artificial intelligence.
POSCO Future M is adding LFP cathode materials to a business portfolio long centered on ternary products to adapt to the shift. The company will convert part of its high-nickel cathode production line at its Pohang plant into an LFP cathode line, with mass production and shipments set to begin at the end of this year. It plans to expand the line conversion in line with additional orders.
In particular, through raw materials supply chain cooperation at the POSCO Group level, the company plans to apply a new process using lithium from Argentine brine lakes to produce and supply LFP cathode materials with improved cost competitiveness and quality.
The company is also strengthening its anode materials business. In March, it signed a 1 trillion won long-term contract to supply artificial graphite anode materials to a global automaker and is investing about 357 billion won to build an artificial graphite anode plant in Vietnam. A spherical graphite processing plant under construction in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, which produces an intermediate material for natural graphite anodes, will undergo trial operations early next year before entering mass production in the second half.
