POSCO Holdings is accelerating its entry into China's secondary battery materials market, using its cooperative relationship with global cathode materials manufacturer Ronbay Group as a springboard. The strategy expands the scope of the lithium value chain the group has built by including not only lithium produced from ore and brine, but also lithium recovered from spent batteries.

■ Strategic MOU Signed with Ronbay Group

According to industry sources on the 27th, POSCO Holdings signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with China's Ronbay Group at POSCO Center in Seoul on the 19th, agreeing to cooperate in the secondary battery materials business, including lithium supply and spent battery recycling.

The core of this partnership lies in connecting lithium resources secured through different methods by POSCO Group to the global battery materials supply chain. Ore-based lithium produced by POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province, brine-based lithium from POSCO Argentina, and recycled lithium recovered from spent batteries by POSCO HY Clean Metal are all included in the scope of cooperation.

In particular, POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution aims to complete Ronbay Group's quality certification process for its battery-grade lithium hydroxide by the fourth quarter of this year. Once certification is completed, a foundation will be laid for actual mass-production supply going forward.

■ Expanding Cooperation Through a Spent Battery Resource Circulation Structure

Ronbay Group is a Chinese battery materials company that has grown around high-nickel cathode materials. Recently, it has been expanding its business areas from conventional ternary cathode materials to lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), and sodium-ion battery materials.

In the spent battery sector, the connection between the two companies has already been established. POSCO HY Clean Metal has been supplying nickel, cobalt, and manganese to Ronbay Group's production facilities in China and to EMT, a domestic precursor affiliate. Building on this existing trading relationship, the two companies plan to expand their cooperation to a resource circulation structure in which key raw materials are recovered from spent batteries and reintroduced into battery materials production.

■ Opportunity to Verify Its Own Lithium Competitiveness in China

For POSCO Group, this partnership offers an opportunity to verify its own lithium production competitiveness in the Chinese market. The group simultaneously holds different supply sources: ore-based lithium using Australian mine raw materials, brine-based lithium from Argentine salt lakes, and recycled lithium extracted from spent batteries. In particular, it is significant that POSCO will build a battery-grade lithium supply chain in China, which has the world's largest secondary battery materials production base.

The key point to watch going forward is whether the lithium businesses POSCO Group has invested in so far can move beyond the stage of building production facilities and connect to actual global customer supply chains.

■ Expanding Cooperation into LFP and ESS Materials

Since Chairman Chang In-hwa took office, POSCO Group has been pursuing both raw material competitiveness and diversification of sales channels in its secondary battery materials business. Going forward, cooperation with Ronbay Group will not be limited to lithium and recycling, but will expand into LFP and energy storage system (ESS)-related materials.

■ POSCO Holdings Stock Price Trend

Meanwhile, POSCO Holdings' stock closed at 328,000 won on the 26th, the previous trading day, down 4,000 won, or 1.20%, from the prior session. As the domestic stock market had not yet opened on the 27th, the day's stock price movements need to be confirmed after market open.

[Stock prices may exhibit heightened volatility depending on corporate performance, industry conditions, merger terms, and market supply and demand. Securities firms' analyses and forecasts may differ from actual future results and do not guarantee returns on specific stocks. Before making investment decisions, it is necessary to comprehensively review the company's official disclosures, financial condition, and business progress. This article is not intended to recommend the purchase or sale of specific stocks. This article was written with AI assistance.]