General Motors has signed a binding off-take agreement for cathode active material (CAM) with Posco Chemical. Under the agreement, which runs from 2023 to 2025, Posco will supply the material from its plant in the South Korean city of Gwangyang to Ultium Cells.
The GM-LG Energy Solutions joint venture will then use the cathode active material from Posco at its battery cell plants in Warren, Ohio; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Lansing, Michigan.
The new agreement complements GM’s joint venture with Posco, which reportedly includes a cathode material plant in the Canadian province of Quebec. Construction of the plant has now begun, Posco has now announced.
The joint venture is called Ultium CAM and was completed in May. The joint venture is majority-owned (85 per cent) by Posco Chemical and is capitalised by both partners with a total of 327 million US dollars (equivalent to just over 304 million euros).
To ensure stable operations during the start-up phase, the CAM joint venture has signed a long-term contract with Ultium Cells for eight years and the supply of 30,000 tonnes of CAM per year. The plant construction is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2024.
General Motors has recently entered into agreements around the supply of battery materials with LG Chem and Livent. “GM has contractually secured all battery raw materials to meet its goal of one million units of EV capacity in North America by the end of 2025,” Posco’s recent release summarises. “This includes lithium, nickel, cobalt and full CAM supply.”