Posco Future M, the battery materials company affiliated with Posco Group, said Thursday it has conducted technical training for key employees of its joint venture project with General Motors in Quebec, Canada.

A total of 21 members of Ultium CAM, the cathode material-making joint venture set up with the US auto giant General Motors in May 2022, participated in a monthlong program held at the firm’s training center in Seoul and its cathode materials plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

The program aims to enhance their readiness for the full-fledged operation of the new Canada plant from next year. The new plant is set to have an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons of cathode material, for use in batteries for electric vehicles.

The materials produced at the facility will be supplied to Ultium Cells, a battery joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution. The Canada-produced materials are expected to enjoy direct benefits, including tax cuts, from the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Most of the visiting Ultium employees were senior staff who are veterans with almost 10 years of experience in the manufacturing sector. They are tasked with handling the quality of the production process at the new plant. Adding to the technical training, they also attended a one-week session focused on sharing Posco’s corporate culture and vision.

“Receiving high-level technical education in South Korea, a leader in the battery industry, and experiencing Korean culture allowed me to understand my colleagues better,” Eric Bouchard, a plant director, was quoted as saying after the training course. “The know-how acquired during this training will be utilized to produce materials of the highest quality in the world.”