Mar. 7, 2026 - POSCO FUTURE M Co. will build a production plant for synthetic graphite anode materials in Vietnam, with construction set to begin in the second half of this year and mass production scheduled to start in 2028.

The company said Wednesday its board approved an investment of about 357 billion won ($270 million) to establish the facility in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam.

The plant will be built on a site that can be expanded to an annual production capacity of 55,000 tons, with the company planning to gradually increase output in line with additional customer orders.

Synthetic graphite anodes offer advantages in fast-charging performance and battery lifespan. Demand for the material has been increasing, but the supply chain remains heavily dependent on certain countries, increasing the need for diversification.

A production line at POSCO FUTURE M's synthetic graphite anode material plant in Pohang

POSCO FUTURE M currently produces 8,000 tons per year of synthetic graphite anodes at its facility in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The company plans to leverage manufacturing technologies developed in South Korea to produce more cost-competitive materials in Vietnam and supply them to global customers.

Vietnam offers strong cost competitiveness in terms of capital investment, electricity prices, labor costs and logistics. It is increasingly seen as an alternative manufacturing hub amid tighter supply chain regulations in the United States and Europe.

The United States introduced Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE) requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), restricting the use of certain foreign-made products, including those from China. The European Union has also set targets to reduce reliance on specific countries through the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).

POSCO FUTURE M has been pursuing vertical integration across the entire anode material value chain for both natural and synthetic graphite. Following the localization of natural graphite and the commercialization of synthetic graphite production, the company is also advancing plans to commercialize silicon-based anode materials.