Posco Group said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese carmaker Honda to shore up comprehensive cooperation in the field of electric vehicles.

The signing took place at Posco’s Seoul headquarters on Tuesday, with top executives, including Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe, in attendance.

The two companies agreed to bolster their existing ties in steelmaking and extend the partnership to cover batteries for EVs, especially the development of key materials.

They plan to discuss ways to secure cathode and anode materials as well as seek to develop materials for solid-state batteries. They also consider carrying out recycling projects for EVs together.

They also agreed to continue cooperating in the steel business, which will be expanded to include the development and supply of eco-friendly steel sheets, motor cores for EVs and non-directional electric steel sheets.

To maintain a long-term partnership and expand their joint reach overseas, Posco and Honda will form working groups for each sector of their collaboration and hold regular meetings.

The two companies also plan to work together in responding to supply chain risks and protectionist policies around the world, including the US' Inflation Reduction Act and the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act.

“This MOU marks the start of a win-win opportunity for Posco’s full value chain strategy and Honda’s strategy for bringing their EVs to more overseas markets,” Posco CEO Choi stated.