POSCO Holdings has officially completed its lithium hydroxide production plant in Guemes, Salta Province, Argentina, as announced on October 27. The ceremony to mark this milestone took place on October 24 at the Hombre Muerto Salt Pan, a key salt lake in the region.
This new facility is capable of producing 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually, a crucial ingredient for cathode materials used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The output from this plant is sufficient to manufacture batteries for approximately 600,000 EVs.
With this addition, POSCO Holdings’ total annual lithium hydroxide production capacity has increased to 46,500 tons. The company’s existing plant at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in South Korea contributes an additional 21,500 tons of lithium ore-based hydroxide.
Kim Jun-hyung, head of the Secondary Battery Materials Division at POSCO Holdings, emphasized the significance of the plant’s completion: “This marks an important first step for POSCO Group in producing high-value-added lithium in Argentina. Our subsequent projects will further establish us as a leader in the global lithium industry.”
The plant is the first phase of a larger, three-phase project initiated by POSCO Holdings. In 2018, the company acquired mining rights to the Hombre Muerto Salt Pan and established a wholly owned subsidiary, POSCO Argentina. In 2022, an investment of approximately $830 million was made to develop the plant, focusing on both upstream and downstream processes for lithium extraction from brine.
POSCO has implemented its proprietary lithium extraction technology at the plant, which reduces maintenance costs by allowing for the recovery and reuse of auxiliary raw materials.
Looking ahead, POSCO Holdings is also constructing a second-phase plant aimed at producing an additional 25,000 tons of lithium from brine, with an investment of about 1 trillion won, expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. Furthermore, plans for a third-phase plant are underway, which will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons, ultimately aiming for a total capacity of 100,000 tons of lithium from brine.
