POSCO INTERNATIONAL is pushing to build an integrated production base in the United States to produce rare earths and permanent magnets, key materials for electric-vehicle batteries. Rare earths and permanent magnets are raw materials used in drive motors, the heart of electric vehicles.
POSCO INTERNATIONAL said on 19th that it signed a memorandum of understanding on 18th at the POSCO Center in Gangnam District, Seoul, with U.S.-based ReElement Technologies (ReElement) to strengthen the rare earth supply chain.
The two companies agreed to explore cooperation plans to build an integrated rare earth and permanent magnet production complex in the United States. POSCO INTERNATIONAL will handle the sourcing of rare-earth intermediate materials and the permanent magnet segment, while ReElement will provide separation, refining, and recycling technologies.
Attendees at the signing ceremony reportedly included POSCO INTERNATIONAL President Lee Gye-in and ReElement CEO Mark Jensen, as well as government officials from both countries such as Na Seong-hwa, director general for industrial supply chain policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Joseph Yun, chargé d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
The U.S. production facility planned by the two companies is expected to become the first U.S. facility to achieve full vertical integration of rare-earth and permanent magnet production. It is designed to manage all steps in a single facility, from securing rare earth raw materials to separation, refining, permanent magnet manufacturing, and the recycling of manufacturing waste and spent magnets.
A POSCO INTERNATIONAL official said, "Through this cooperation, we aim to mitigate risks from concentration in the rare earth supply chain and to create a foundation for a stable supply system of key materials to automakers at home and abroad."