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boom","south-koreas-5-billion-pcam-and-cathode-building-boom","article/south-koreas-5-billion-pcam-and-cathode-building-boom",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":726,"featured":51,"reporter":727,"_editable":731,"component":732,"seo_title":543,"categories":733,"visibility":736,"author_company":49,"featured_image":737,"seo_description":726,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":741,"formattedArticleDate":742},"a6a86d58-de9f-43b9-b82d-a60b8ebbf79f","2024-01-10 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"south-korea","South Korea",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,573,578,593,598,607,612,617,622,629,634,639,657,662,667,672,677,690,703,716,721],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570],{"text":571,"type":572},"Last year saw over $5 billion worth of investments into precursor cathode active material (pCAM) and cathode active material (CAM) capacity in South Korea, in response to growing North American demand for US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-compliant battery materials.  ","text",{"type":567,"attrs":574,"content":575},{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":572},"“South Korea has significant pCAM and CAM manufacturing expertise and the country can help reduce the US’ reliance on China for battery materials,” said Benchmark analyst Anya Sidhu.",{"type":567,"attrs":579,"content":580},{"textAlign":49},[581,583,591],{"text":582,"type":572},"South Korea’s planned pCAM production capacity grew by 60% last year, compared to 2022, ",{"text":584,"type":572,"marks":585},"according to Benchmark data",[586],{"type":587,"attrs":588},"link",{"href":589,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cathode/reports/","url",{"text":592,"type":572},", while planned cathode production capacity increased by some 133,000 tonnes a year. ",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":572},"In November 2023, South Korean cathode producer L&F Material Co. announced an additional 290,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of pipeline CAM capacity, with an investment of KRW 2.6t ($2bn). In the same month, LS Group announced 40,000 tpa of additional pCAM capacity for the planned joint venture facility it owns with L&F.",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"type":602,"attrs":603},"image",{"id":49,"alt":604,"src":605,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":606},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/43a751a8a0/bm-screenshot-2024-01-10-174202.png",{},{"type":567,"attrs":608,"content":609},{"textAlign":49},[610],{"text":611,"type":572},"South Korea’s cathode producers have always sold significant quantities into North America. However, capacity investments geared towards the market have grown since the 2022 US IRA.",{"type":567,"attrs":613,"content":614},{"textAlign":49},[615],{"text":616,"type":572},"The IRA awards $3,750 in tax credits to manufacturers for each electric vehicle sold if a certain value of its battery critical minerals are extracted or processed in the US or US free trade partner countries.",{"type":567,"attrs":618,"content":619},{"textAlign":49},[620],{"text":621,"type":572},"South Korea a US free trader partner and is also the world’s second biggest CAM and pCAM producer, making it an attractive alternative to China for the US to diversify sourcing for battery constituent materials.",{"type":623,"attrs":624,"content":626},"heading",{"level":625,"textAlign":49},4,[627],{"text":628,"type":572},"L&F grows CAM capacity",{"type":567,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"textAlign":49},[632],{"text":633,"type":572},"Tier 1 South Korean cathode producer L&F committed KRW 2.6 trillion ($2 billion) for a planned new 290,000 tonne per annum (tpa) CAM asset in Daegu, North Gyeongsang in eastern South Korea. ",{"type":567,"attrs":635,"content":636},{"textAlign":49},[637],{"text":638,"type":572},"Out of the total capacity, 160,000 tpa will be for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials production and 130,000 tpa for high-nickel cathode material. ",{"type":567,"attrs":640,"content":641},{"textAlign":49},[642,644,650,652],{"text":643,"type":572},"The site brings L&F’s total CAM pipeline capacity to 415,000 tonnes a year, of which 125,000 is operating, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":645,"type":572,"marks":646},"latest Cathode ",[647],{"type":587,"attrs":648},{"href":649,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/portal/",{"text":651,"type":572},"Price Assessment",{"text":653,"type":572,"marks":654},".",[655],{"type":587,"attrs":656},{"href":649,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},{"type":623,"attrs":658,"content":659},{"level":625,"textAlign":49},[660],{"text":661,"type":572},"South Korean producers seek IRA compliance",{"type":567,"attrs":663,"content":664},{"textAlign":49},[665],{"text":666,"type":572},"In late November, South Korean energy conglomerate, LS Group revealed plans to expand capacity at is planned pCAM production base in Saemangeum, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea.",{"type":567,"attrs":668,"content":669},{"textAlign":49},[670],{"text":671,"type":572},"This expansion involves a total investment of KRW 2.2t ($1.7bn). The newly planned second phase will have a capacity of 40,000 tpa of mid and high nickel precursor material.",{"type":567,"attrs":673,"content":674},{"textAlign":49},[675],{"text":676,"type":572},"The 40,000 tpa capacity will add to the 120,000 tpa initially announced when the project, named LS-L&F Battery Solution, was unveiled in June 2023.",{"type":567,"attrs":678,"content":679},{"textAlign":49},[680,682,688],{"text":681,"type":572},"This pCAM asset is jointly owned with L&F. Its output will likely supply the latter’s CAM facilities, according to Benchmark’s latest ",{"text":683,"type":572,"marks":684},"Cathode Price Assessment",[685],{"type":587,"attrs":686},{"href":687,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/portal/?tab=table",{"text":689,"type":572},".  ",{"type":567,"attrs":691,"content":692},{"textAlign":49},[693,695,701],{"text":694,"type":572},"As a fully South Korean-owned facility, this joint venture bucks a recent trend of South Korean battery materials producers partnering with ",{"text":696,"type":572,"marks":697},"Chinese companies",[698],{"type":587,"attrs":699},{"href":700,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-battery-materials-producers-expand-overseas-with-hungary-south-korea-deals",{"text":702,"type":572}," to build domestic cathode capacity. ",{"type":567,"attrs":704,"content":705},{"textAlign":49},[706,708,714],{"text":707,"type":572},"This means the asset is less likely to fall foul of a December 2023 Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) ",{"text":709,"type":572,"marks":710},"guidance",[711],{"type":587,"attrs":712},{"href":713,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":590},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-moves-to-cut-china-from-its-battery-supply-chain",{"text":715,"type":572}," from the US Treasury stating that if a company associated with the Chinese government owns more than a 25% interest in a battery materials producer, its output will not be eligible for IRA tax credits, even if it operates in a free trade partner country.",{"type":567,"attrs":717,"content":718},{"textAlign":49},[719],{"text":720,"type":572},"“With L&F’s major cathode operations based domestically in South Korea, it is the company’s pCAM supply that is likely sourced in part from China. The projects L&F has announced in past year seek to rectify this,” explained Evan Hartley, a Benchmark analyst. ",{"type":567,"attrs":722,"content":723},{"textAlign":49},[724],{"text":725,"type":572},"Still, South Korean producers will need to ensure they source raw materials that also don’t breach this guidance.","Last year saw over $5 billion worth of investments into precursor cathode active material (pCAM) and cathode active material (CAM) capacity in South Korea, in response to growing North American demand for US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-compliant battery materials. “South Korea has significant pCAM and CAM manufacturing expertise and the country can help reduce the […]",[728],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":729},{"job_title":558,"image":730,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a6a86d58-de9f-43b9-b82d-a60b8ebbf79f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[734],{"slug":735,"name":298},"cathode","private",{"id":49,"alt":604,"name":604,"focus":604,"title":604,"source":604,"filename":738,"copyright":604,"fieldtype":739,"meta_data":740,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e47a129ba3/bm-south-korea-factory.jpg","asset",{"alt":604,"title":604,"source":604,"copyright":604},"Jan 10, 2024","10th January 2024",[],[],1784052277467]