South Korean steel giant POSCO has said it has launched construction of a new $804 million plant for non-oriented electrical steel plates in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. The new plant, which should be completed in 2025, will be capable of producing 300,000 metric tons of such products per year.
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by POSCO vice chairman Kim Hak-dong and Gwangyang deputy mayor Kim Kyung-ho, among others.
POSCO announced it will invest KRW 1 trillion ($804 million) sequentially to scale up production of non-oriented electrical steel plates in response to rising demand for eco-friendly steel in vehicles and home appliances.
POSCO is currently capable of rolling out 830,000 metric tons of electric steel plates per year, including 100,000 metric tons of non-oriented electrical steel plates. These products are used for driving the motor cores of electric vehicles and home appliances that require high efficiency. POSCO's annual output capacity of electrical steel will rise to about 1.13 million metric tons when the construction of the new plant is completed. At the new plant, the company will lower the thickness of the product to 0.1 mm by adopting the latest cutting-edge facilities and equipment. The thinner steel will allow the company to flexibly respond to customized orders from its key clients such as Samsung and LG.
With this investment, POSCO will build the world's best production system for electrical steel plates and solidify its position as a global supplier to lead the sector for eco-friendly cars and high-end home appliances, said POSCO vice chairman Kim Hak-dong.
The plant is expected to create 210,000 jobs during construction.