Reported that in late December last year, the Chinese side approved the export of spherical graphite materials required for the production of lithium battery anode materials to POSCO Future M, a battery material production subsidiary of the South Korean steel giant POSCO (POSCO) Group. The company is South Korea's only positive and negative materials all involved in the secondary battery materials leading enterprises.

The Chinese side has also approved the export of finished graphite anode materials to three major power battery companies in South Korea, including LG New Energy, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI.

Yonhap quoted supply chain sources as saying that although the Chinese government has strengthened export controls on graphite items, it has approved a series of graphite export licenses, including those for South Korean companies. It can be said that Korean companies have no special problems in the process of importing graphite from China for the time being.

According to reports, China on December 1 last year, on the basis of artificial graphite, further natural graphite, the negative material of secondary batteries, is also included in the control list. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea imported about $241 million worth of artificial and natural graphite in 2022, of which 93.7% came from China.

POSCO Future M battery cathode material production line source: Korean media

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