POSCO Group Partners with China's Ronbay to Enter Battery-Grade Lithium Market

Collaboration on Ore-, Brine-, and Recycled Lithium Supply
Quality Certification for Battery-Grade Lithium Hydroxide by Year-End
Expanding Cooperation in Battery Recycling and ESS Materials

POSCO Group is partnering with Chinese cathode material company Ronbay Group to pursue the supply of battery-grade lithium. The scope of collaboration will extend from ore- and brine-based lithium to recycled battery materials, aiming to strengthen their foothold in China’s secondary battery materials market.

Jang Inhwa, Chairman of POSCO Group, is explaining the group's business portfolio strategy at the 'CEO Investor Day' held on July 2. POSCO Group

On the 19th, POSCO Holdings announced that it signed a strategic business agreement with Ronbay Group (Ningbo Ronbay New Energy) at the POSCO Center. The two companies plan to cooperate across the entire value chain of secondary battery materials, including lithium supply and battery recycling.

Ronbay Group is a Chinese secondary battery materials company that specializes in high-nickel cathode materials. It has recently broadened its product lineup to include not only ternary cathodes, but also lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), and sodium-ion batteries.

Under this agreement, the companies will collaborate on the supply of ore-based lithium produced by POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Jeollanam-do, brine-based lithium from POSCO Argentina, and battery recycling lithium from POSCO HY Clean Metal.

POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution plans to complete quality certification for its ore-based battery-grade lithium hydroxide by the fourth quarter of this year and establish a mass supply foundation for Ronbay Group.

The companies will also strengthen cooperation in battery recycling. POSCO HY Clean Metal currently supplies nickel, cobalt, and manganese to both Ronbay Group’s plant in China and its domestic precursor subsidiary EMT. Building on this, the partners plan to expand the scope of their collaboration by establishing a closed-loop system that links global battery resource recovery and recycling.

Through this partnership, POSCO Group will expand its presence in the Chinese market by leveraging a lithium supply chain spanning Australian ore, Argentine brine, and recycled battery materials. In particular, the company highlights that it has secured a foundation to supply battery-grade lithium to China, the world’s largest producer of secondary battery materials.

Since Inhwa Jang became chairman, POSCO Group has continued to invest in core resources such as lithium while focusing on securing new customers in the global market. This collaboration is part of a broader strategy to strengthen competitiveness across the entire lithium value chain—from resource acquisition to production and sales—and to expand the company’s global customer base.

Going forward, the companies plan to broaden their cooperation in the secondary battery materials sector, including energy storage systems (ESS), to align with Ronbay Group’s expanding LFP product portfolio.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.