(LEAD) POSCO to invest 53 tln won in eco-friendly plant, battery materials

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SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- POSCO Group said Thursday it will invest 53 trillion won (US$41.8 billion) over the next five years to transform its steel plants into environment-friendly facilities and invest in battery materials.

The South Korean steelmaker will spend most of the planned investment to upgrade the existing steel mills into eco-friendly facilities and to invest in R&D activities, hydrogen solutions and rechargeable battery materials such as nickel and lithium, POSCO said in a statement.

Of the total, POSCO said it will spend 33 trillion won domestically and the remaining 20 trillion won in overseas businesses.

Separately, the company plans to hire 25,000 employees by 2026 to promote the steelmaking, battery materials and hydrogen businesses, it said.

On the same day, POSCO's major client Hyundai Heavy Industries Group announced it will invest 21 trillion won over the next five years in R&D projects for fuel cell and other future growth drivers, and in turning its shipyards into eco-friendly and digitalized ones.

POSCO is the world's sixth-largest steelmaker by steel output. Hyundai Heavy is the world's leading shipbuilder and purchases shipbuilding plates from POSCO.

HD Hyundai, formerly known as Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, has the Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) as a subholding company under its wing.

KSOE has three shipbuilding affiliates -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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