Hyundai weighs 100 billion won investment in Vietnam graphite anode project
Key Facts
Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO Future M signed a letter of intent on November 3 to explore Hyundai investing 100 billion won in a project to produce synthetic graphite anodes in Vietnam, according to The Korea Herald. The newspaper said Hyundai is considering taking a stake in the project and seeking priority purchase rights for anode materials. This means the investment remains under consideration, while the agreement links potential participation in the project with securing priority access to its products. The two companies also agreed to cooperate on early-stage product development and quality evaluation. The work aims to meet electric vehicle performance requirements, according to the newspaper.
The plant is located in Thai Nguyen Province, where POSCO Future M began construction in March, with an investment of about 357 billion won. Mass production is scheduled to begin in 2028, according to The Korea Herald. The newspaper said the company has already secured customer orders for the project’s first phase. It is also seeking to carry out a second investment phase to expand production. This potential expansion puts the project on a phased path, beginning with first-phase output and then depending on additional investment to increase capacity.
The project covers more than 37 hectares, according to the Thai Nguyen Industrial Zones Authority, and is designed to produce about 46,000 tons of products annually when completed in phases. This capacity applies to the project’s full plan, while the company is still seeking investment and expansion in the second phase. The authority said total investment exceeds 7,400 billion Vietnamese dong. The figure gives an indication of the project’s scale at the provincial level, alongside the construction investment reported by The Korea Herald in South Korean won. The plant’s announced mass-production start date remains 2028.
Synthetic graphite anodes support battery performance; they help improve charging speed and battery life, according to The Korea Herald. The need to diversify supplies has come into focus as the United States tightens sourcing requirements related to prohibited foreign entities and Europe advances industrial policies to strengthen local supply chains. The newspaper cited this context among the factors supporting demand for diversified material sources. In this setting, the Vietnam project allows POSCO Future M to expand production of a material used in electric vehicle batteries. The agreement also combines product development and quality evaluation with Hyundai’s consideration of priority purchase rights.
The November agreement comes within broader cooperation between the POSCO and Hyundai groups; they signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2025 to expand cooperation in steel and rechargeable batteries, according to The Korea Herald. POSCO Future M signed a long-term supply agreement for synthetic graphite anodes in March 2026 with a global automaker whose name was not disclosed. The contract is worth about 1.0149 trillion won and covers the period from 2027 to 2032, with the option to extend it by mutual agreement. The company said the customer’s identity was withheld for business confidentiality, so the earlier contract does not identify Hyundai as the buyer. POSCO Future M described it as the largest supply agreement it has signed since entering the anode materials business in 2011.
POSCO Future M has a track record in developing graphite-based anode materials; it began localizing natural graphite anode materials in 2011, and its synthetic graphite anode plant in Pohang was completed in 2021, according to the company. In October 2025, it also signed another agreement to supply natural graphite anodes to a global automaker, worth about 670 billion won. These contracts provide a backdrop to the growth of its anode business ahead of the Vietnam project and the new Hyundai agreement. The next development for the project will be progress on implementing the first phase and the second investment plan POSCO Future M is seeking. The start of mass production in 2028 remains the plant’s stated target.