Ahead of Schedule
SK On, a company specializing in pouch-type batteries, will unveil a prismatic battery for the first time. The company is employing a strategy to increase its global competitiveness by meeting the needs of automakers with a variety of products.
SK On announced on March 9 that it will unveil a new prismatic battery at InterBattery 2023 to be held on March 15. It will also take the wraps off co-free batteries, lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) batteries, and new all-solid-state batteries, called next-generation batteries.
The prismatic nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) Super Fast Battery that SK On is unveiling for the first time can reach 80 percent in 18 minutes when being charged. It is similar to the expandable pouch-type battery unveiled at CES in the United States earlier this year. It won the Best Innovation Award at CES. At this InterBattery, SK On plans to unveil an actual model with an increased charging speed than the previous version shown at CES.
In the battery industry, a need for form factor diversification is growing. It is in the same context that global automakers are diversifying their supply patterns from one-to-one contracts with existing battery makers. This means that a strategic approach is needed as the degree of completeness of batteries varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
The release of SK On’s prismatic battery is significant in that it has moved away from a pouch-type single form factor strategy devised in collaboration with Ford. Analysts interpret it as a move to seek various concessions in the future.
SK On’s products to be showcased at InterBattery are also connected to an extension of the battery maker’s diversification strategy. Co-free batteries are a product that SK On recently developed a year earlier than initially scheduled. In ternary batteries using nickel, cobalt, and manganese as raw materials, the battery maker did not use cobalt responsible for structural safety and extended battery lives by utilizing its own high-nickel technology.
An LFP battery prototype will also be unveiled. LFP batteries fall to 50 to 70 percent in mileage at a low temperature (-20 degrees Celsius), but SK On has raised the percentage to 70 to 80 percent. This is because SK On applied material and electrode technologies accumulated through production of high-nickel batteries to LFP batteries. In particular, LFP batteries have shorter mileage than ternary batteries, but are cheaper to produce.
SK On is developing sulfide-based all-solid-state and polymer/oxide-based all-solid-state batteries to introduce safe batteries with high energy density.