The problem
A battery is mostly a cathode business: the material decides range, cost, and where you can legally sell the car. Automakers spent the 2020s learning that high-nickel cathodes can’t be wished into existence — and that Brussels now wants them made locally.
How it works
EcoPro BM develops and mass-produces high-nickel cathode active materials and precursors for EVs, ESS, power tools, and UPS. Production runs from Pohang (southeast Korea) with Hungary’s Debrecen plant adding European capacity, while the EcoPro EM joint venture dedicates NCA output to Samsung SDI’s overseas battery factories.
Pain points
Cathode price volatility flowing straight into EV sticker prices, overdependence on Chinese refining, and battery makers’ need for qualified second sources that can actually ship at scale.
Business model
Long-horizon offtake contracts — the Samsung SDI deal runs five years at ~₩44T — converting proven tonnage into bankable revenue, supplemented by precursor sales and non-EV product lines.
Challenges
The post-2022 EV slowdown punished every cathode maker on price and utilization; defending margins means winning on cost against Chinese incumbents while funding the Hungary expansion through the trough.
Funding
- Raised: ₩172.8B Kosdaq IPO (Mar 5, 2019, Daishin Securities-led; 3.6M shares at ₩48,000, above the ₩37,500–42,900 range) at a ~₩952.8B ($746M) offer valuation.
- Valuation: as above at IPO; no fresher citable figure — MISSING beyond that.
Latest — September 2026
EcoPro BM is negotiating a cathode-supply deal with CATL, the world’s largest battery maker: ~20,000 tons a year (≈13 GWh, enough for ~200,000 EVs), potentially starting 2028 — which would make it the first Korean cathode firm inside CATL’s supply chain — while expanding Hungary capacity toward 60,000 tons as EU local-sourcing rules tighten.