Local anode material makers enjoy super cycle

The presence of local anode producers is growing thanks to expansion of electric vehicles market. Experts say South Korean battery material makers including POSCO Chemical have entered the super cycle (extreme boom) thanks to the humming e-vehicle market,

POSCO Chemical, one of the major anode producers in South Korea, posted a revenue worth 480 million won in the second quarter of the year, a record high per quarter. And the sales of anode, the core material, took up the lion’s share at 35% (167.7 billion won). The total operating profits skyrocketed by 773.9% to 35.6 billion won year-on-year.

The battery industry is embarking on the commercialization of “high-nickel” technology to increase the portion of nickel from the current 60~80 percent to over 90 percent in the future. High-nickel batteries are expected to boost the maximum mileage of electric cars from around 400 kilometers to 700 kilometers. In September last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk declared to develop a 100% nickel battery, and Volkswagen, which unveiled a plan to slash the cost of batteries for its electric cars in March this year, is increasingly broadening contact points with anode producers. Hyundai Motor Group is also pushing to secure high-nickel anode batteries to boost the maximum mileage, by appling a 80% nickel battery to its latest e-vehicle IONIQ 5.


Hyung-Seok Seo skytree08@donga.com