Int'l Research Collaboration
As a race to preempt the next-generation electric vehicle battery market extends beyond the battery industry to the automotive industry, companies are accelerating their moves to secure super-gap technologies.
According to sources in the battery industry on June 19, major Korean battery manufacturers such as LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI recently unveiled various new battery technologies to realize sustainable growth in Interbattery Europe 2023 in Munich, Germany.
One area that drew much attention was all-solid-state batteries, which are often referred to as a “dream battery.” An all-solid-state battery is a battery in which the electrolytes are changed from a liquid to a solid. The solid electrolyte itself acts as a separator so it is stable and enables higher energy density per volume. Therefore, it is suitable for high-capacity EV batteries.
Samsung SDI, which invested more than 300 billion won (US$234 million) in research and development (R&D) in the first quarter of this year alone, introduced products with a solid electrolyte material of its own development and anode-less technology, an innovative material that improves battery life. In the first half of the year, Samsung SDI completed S-Line, an all-solid-state battery pilot line, in an area of about 6,500 square meters in its Suwon research center, and plans to produce prototypes.
In September 2021, LG Energy Solution established the Frontier Research Lab (FRL) with the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), Germany’s MEET, and the Münster branch of the Helmholtz Institute, to conduct research on high-capacity next-generation cathode materials and dry electrode processes for all-solid-state batteries. It is partnering with prestigious Korean universities such as KAIST, POSTECH, and Seoul National University to research next-generation batteries.
SK on is also aggressively ramping up its investment to strengthen its R&D infrastructure for next-generation technologies including all-solid-state batteries. First, the company plans to invest a total of 470 billion won (US$367 million) to expand its research facilities and establish a pilot plant for next-generation batteries by 2025. Based on this, SK on aims to develop an all-solid-state battery prototype in the second half of 2024 and commercialize it in 2028.
In addition, SK on has been strengthening its next-generation battery technology by investing in overseas advanced companies such as Solid Power, a leading U.S. all-solid-state battery company, and collaborating with researchers at leading colleges and universities.
The reason why the three major Korean battery companies are working hard to develop all-solid-state batteries is that not only Chinese battery makers but the global automobile industry is pursuing the internalization of all-solid-state batteries, increasing the need to secure advanced battery technologies.
In fact, according to SNE Research, Chinese battery maker CATL plans to develop first-generation all-solid-state batteries by 2025 and introduce second-generation products after 2030. Japan’s Toyota recently announced plans to develop a next-generation all-solid-state battery that can enable an electric vehicle to travel about 1,200 kilometers on a 10-minute charge. The new battery will go into Toyota EVs starting from 2027. Nissan is also developing an electric vehicle powered by all-solid-state batteries and launch it in 2028.
Tesla of the United States and China’s BYD, which started as a battery company, are already producing both electric vehicles and batteries in-house. Hyundai Motor and BMW of Germany are also busy developing new technologies to internalize next-generation batteries for their cars.