POSCO International said Monday it is accelerating efforts to build a stable global supply chain for heavy rare earth elements, a key component in electric vehicle (EV) motors, through the launch of its first corporate venture capital (CVC) fund. The company said it has established a 25 billion won ($16 million) CVC fund in partnership with POSCO Investment, marking its first such initiative. As part of the fund’s initial deployment, it will invest 8 billion won in a domestic company specializing in rare earth separation and refining. The investment is aimed at securing a stable supply of heavy rare earth materials such as dysprosium and terbium, which are essential for high-performance permanent magnets used in EV drive motors. These elements play a critical role in maintaining magnetic strength at high temperatures but are largely produced and refined in a limited number of countries, posing structural risks to global supply chains. The Korean firm said the investee company has proprietary technology capable of refining heavy rare earths into oxides with purity levels exceeding 99.5