Strategic Alliances by Country
Samsung SDI won orders for mid- to large-sized batteries from overseas, including those for electric cars, electric commercial vehicles and energy storage systems (ESSs) this month alone. Strategies for cooperation with local companies paid off handsomely.
According to the battery industry and foreign news sources on March 22, Samsung SDI and China's Sungrow landed a contract on the supply of 23 inverter containers, including a 30MWh ESS and an energy management system (EMS) from Hokkaido, Japan. The Hokkaido project involves Samsung SDI-Sungrow Energy Storage Battery, which is a joint venture between the two companies.
Samsung SDI has been already enjoying a good reputation in the Japanese market such as signing a contract with Japan's Nichicon to supply 300,000 ESSs beginning in the first half of next year. On March 4, the AES Group of the US signed an agreement to buy about 13,000 battery modules for ESSs for a 28MW solar power project in Hawaii from Samsung SDI. According to market researcher B3, Samsung SDI ranked first in the global ESS battery market last year with a market share of 38%.
Fruit has been borne in Samsung SDI’s commercial vehicle division. Samsung SDI signed a contract with German automotive parts maker Webasto in the latter’s headquarters in Munich, Germany, to co-develop and manufacture high-voltage batteries for commercial vehicles. Webasto will manufacture standard multi-battery packs for commercial vehicles with Samsung SDI battery cells and provide tailor-made battery solutions to commercial vehicle manufacturers. The details of the contract such as the contract volume were not disclosed. However, considering the fact that Wevasto's annual sales ran to 3.2 billion euros (about 4.2 trillion won) in 2016, Samsung SDI is expected to elevate its position in the electric vehicle battery market.
Samsung SDI was recently picked out as a battery supplier for electric cars of Volkswagen that will invest US$25 billion in batteries alone (about 26 trillion won).