POSCO Holdings Inc. (POSCO) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda) have announced that they have begun exploring a comprehensive partnership toward the realisation of carbon neutrality.
This builds on the announcement in January that Honda have entered a joint venture with Sony for its new electric vehicle (EV), the Afeela, which they will be producing together. Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM) made the reveal at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
During the presentation, a prototype vehicle with the new Afeela logo was brought on stage that looked similar to the Vision-S concept we brought you news of back in June 2022. SHM will develop the production model based on this prototype and plans to start taking pre-orders in the first half of 2025. It will commence sales by the end of 2025 and begin delivery in spring 2026 in North America.
A video showcasing the new Afeela can be seen below:
Honda is now partnering with POSCO to produce this electric car and other models more sustainably. The two companies reached this agreement based on their belief that it is necessary for them to use the strengths of each company. This includes environmental and electrification technologies, and exploring future collaboration to further accelerate their initiatives toward carbon neutrality.
Based on this agreement, the two companies will explore possible collaboration in the following key areas:
Automotive steel sheet
•Adoption of ultra-high tensile steel sheet, which contributes to the further reduction of vehicle weight, and automotive steel sheet produced through a process that reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Electric steel sheet
•Application of electric steel sheet in the mass production of drive motors for the e-Axle (electric axle drive)
Batteries
•Technical exchange on future battery materials
•Cooperation in the procurement of key battery materials such as cathode and anode materials
Recycling
•Expanded use of recycled materials toward the realization of a low-carbon society
•Establishment of a closed-loop recycling system which will utilize reclaimed battery materials
Choi Jeong-Woo, chairman of POSCO, said: “Honda has been our strategic partner in the steel business, and we are pleased to expand our cooperative system into the field of battery materials.
“We are expecting that the POSCO Group’s “full value chain” for battery materials, which includes elemental materials such as lithium and nickel, cathode and anode materials, future battery materials, and recycling, will be of great help to Honda’s strategy to expand its electric vehicle business.”
Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO of Honda, said: “We have announced our target to realise carbon neutrality for all Honda products and corporate activities by 2050.
“We believe that this expansion of our partnership with POSCO, which has extensive expertise in the areas of battery materials, recycling, and steel sheet and electric steel sheet, will help us further accelerate our electrification strategies.”
This news follows POSCO Chemical’s announcement in January 2022 that they will be working with General Motors and the governments of Canada and Quebec to build a new facility in Bécancour, Quebec.
Estimated at $400 million (C$500 million/£305 million/€368 million), the new facility will produce cathode active material (CAM) for GM’s Ultium batteries. These will be used to power the brand’s electric vehicles (EVs) including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC HUMMER EV and Cadillac LYRIQ.
