Gov't, POSCO to invest 30B won in lithium-extracting plant
February 2, 2010 10:37 pm
SEOUL, Feb. 2 — The government signed a deal Tuesday with leading South Korean steelmaker POSCO to cooperate in extracting lithium from seawater, in a bid to secure a stable source of the material used in batteries for electric cars, mobile phones and other personal devices, government officials said.
Under the deal, the government and POSCO are to invest a combined 30 billion won (US$ 26 million) in building a lithium-extracting plant with the aim of completing the commercialization of the material obtained from seawater by 2014, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
They also hope to produce around 20,000-100,000 tons of lithium annually from 2015.
The ministry said, however, that it has yet to decide where to locate the plant.
The deal comes as the amount of lithium that can be obtained on land is quickly being depleted.
The ministry said that it had sought to extract lithium from seawater over the past years and succeeded in securing related core technologies in May.
In 2008, South Korea imported around 11,000 tons of lithium batteries and other related products worth about 660 billion won to meet local demand, according to the ministry. (PNA/Yonhap)
LDV/ebp
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