POSCO Future M (003670) announced Monday it signed a long-term supply contract worth approximately 1 trillion won ($700 million) for synthetic graphite anode materials with a global automaker, marking the company's largest deal since entering the anode business in 2011.
The contract, valued at about 1.0149 trillion won, spans five years from 2027 to 2032, with potential extension through mutual agreement. The customer's identity will remain undisclosed until contract completion for confidentiality reasons.
POSCO Future M currently supplies anode materials to domestic battery manufacturers and GM. In July 2025, the company signed a natural graphite anode supply contract with a major Japanese battery maker, followed by a 670 billion won deal with a global automaker in October of the same year.
The latest contract is structured as a package deal with the natural graphite agreement signed last October. POSCO Future M plans to expand cooperation into cathode materials and lithium businesses.
To meet surging demand, the company is scaling up production capacity. On May 5, it announced a 357 billion won investment to build a new synthetic graphite anode plant in Vietnam. The first phase investment has now secured customer commitments, with second-phase expansion planned for additional orders.
POSCO Future M, Korea's only graphite-based anode material producer, has led domestic battery supply chain stabilization since localizing natural graphite anode production in 2011. The company completed a synthetic graphite anode plant in Pohang in 2021.
The company has also pursued full vertical integration of raw material supply chains. Synthetic graphite anodes utilize coal-based and petroleum-based coke derived from POSCO's steelmaking coal tar. For natural graphite anodes, the company plans to import graphite ore from Africa through POSCO Group and process intermediate materials at a spherical graphite plant under construction in Saemangeum.
POSCO Future M produces both natural and synthetic graphite anodes customized to customer requirements and is commercializing silicon anode materials for solid-state batteries. The company is currently in supply discussions with multiple customers in Korea, North America, and the EU for both cathode and anode materials.
The company aims to evolve beyond Korea's only simultaneous cathode-anode producer into a global top-tier battery materials player.