[Lithium Battery: New Ultra-Fast Charging Battery Industrialization Project To Be Launched In Zaozhuang, Shandong]

On June 10, CAAM released data showing that in May, auto production and sales reached 2.616 million units and 2.629 million units, up 1.6% and 4.1% MoM, respectively, but down 1.2% and 2.1% YoY, respectively. In the first five months of this year, production totaled 12.235 million units, down 4.6% YoY, and sales reached 12.207 million units, down 4.2% YoY, with the decline narrowing further from the first four months. In export terms, May exports stood at 930,000 units, up 3.1% MoM and up 68.7% YoY, remaining above 900,000 units for two consecutive months. For the first five months, exports reached 4.059 million units, up 63% YoY.

POSCO Holdings will become the first South Korean company to demonstrate direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology in the United States. The company announced on June 10 that it signed a cooperation agreement with Australian resource development company Anson Resources to build and operate a DLE demonstration plant in the Green River region of Utah, the United States. The demonstration plant is scheduled to be completed and begin operations in 2027. POSCO Holdings plans to complete technology validation using actual brine by 2028 and establish a foundation for commercialization.