Posco Expands Gwangyang LNG Terminal to Boost Energy Security
Posco Group is bolstering its industrial presence in Gwangyang Bay, aiming to enhance energy security and reinforce South Korea’s battery supply chains. The company is developing a full ecosystem that integrates liquefied natural gas infrastructure, cutting-edge manufacturing, and strategic resources in close proximity to its steel production facilities.
Enhancing Korea’s LNG Infrastructure
The Gwangyang LNG Terminal, operated by Posco International, serves as the core of the group’s energy operations. As the first privately run LNG import facility in Korea, the terminal has recently undergone a significant expansion. This project has not only increased the terminal’s storage capacity but also paved the way for the development of new businesses.
On November 3, officials showcased the newly completed Terminal 2, which features two massive LNG storage tanks, each measuring 50 meters in height and 100 meters in diameter. The expansion project, which cost 949.2 billion won (approximately $709 million), added two 200,000-kiloliter tanks to the existing infrastructure, bringing the total storage capacity to 1.44 million kiloliters. This amount is equivalent to roughly 40 days of Korea’s residential heating demand.
The LNG is stored at a temperature of minus 162 degrees Celsius, which reduces the volume of natural gas to about one-600th of its original size. Each tank has a capacity equivalent to 400 million 500-milliliter water bottles. Posco has developed a proprietary high-manganese steel for the fifth and sixth tanks, which offers performance comparable to conventional 9 percent nickel steel while reducing material costs by approximately 25 percent.
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The new storage tanks feature reinforced outer walls measuring 75 centimeters thick, built to endure seismic activity and external impacts. A second pier, linked by a 740-meter offshore corridor, now allows the terminal to handle LNG vessels with capacities up to 270,000 cubic meters. The upgraded terminal will also enable services like LNG carrier commissioning, ship bunkering, and cold energy recovery.
Posco International has reserved space for four additional tanks, which could potentially increase the terminal’s storage capacity to 2.27 million kiloliters.
Automation Drives Battery Material Production
At the Yulchon Industrial Complex, Posco Future M operates a cathode material plant with an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons, described as the world’s largest single-site facility of its kind. The output is sufficient to supply batteries for approximately 850,000 Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicles.
The plant features a highly automated process, where workers oversee the mixing of precursor materials with lithium compounds, followed by heating in industrial furnaces and subsequent cooling and processing. The facility produces high-performance cathode materials, including nickel-cobalt-manganese, nickel-cobalt-aluminum, and nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum compositions.
Posco Future M’s single-crystal cathode technology is designed to improve battery durability and thermal stability. Unlike conventional polycrystalline materials, which consist of multiple smaller crystals, single-crystal particles are more resistant to cracking during repeated charging and discharging. The plant’s automation includes robotic arms that package samples into capsules, which travel through overhead pneumatic tubes to a second-floor laboratory in about 20 seconds.
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Automated guided vehicles transport materials between production areas and warehouses, while robotic systems in the testing laboratory prepare samples for chemical analysis, crystal structure inspections, and battery performance tests conducted under tightly controlled conditions. Materials that fail to meet quality standards can be transferred to nearby Posco HY Clean Metal for the recovery of valuable metals.
Building a Domestic Critical Materials Supply Chain
Posco Group is expanding its presence across the battery materials supply chain, from lithium processing to recycling. Posco-Pilbara Lithium Solution operates Korea’s first commercial lithium hydroxide plant, which uses lithium ore imported from Australia under a 20-year supply arrangement. The facility has an annual production capacity of 43,000 tons and combines electrodialysis and conventional chemical processing to produce lithium hydroxide, a key ingredient in high-performance EV batteries.
This initiative is part of Posco’s efforts to diversify supply chains and reduce Korea’s reliance on China for processed battery materials. Nearby, Posco HY Clean Metal processes up to 12,000 tons of black mass annually, extracting lithium carbonate, nickel sulfate, and cobalt sulfate with reported recovery rates exceeding 90 percent. The recovered materials can be reused in Posco Future M’s battery material production.
Posco is also expanding into industrial gases essential for advanced manufacturing. Posco Air Solution produces high-purity specialty gases, including xenon, krypton, neon, and helium, with a stated annual production capacity of 130,000 normal cubic meters. These gases have applications in semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, and defense, industries where reliable supplies have become increasingly important.
