‘K battery’ with wings in full swing for electric vehicles… Technology development speed
[앵커]
With a large number of new electric vehicle models scheduled to be introduced this year, the battery market is also expected to continue growing.
The domestic battery industry is also accelerating the development of technology to preoccupy the market.
This is reporter Jisoo Kim.
[기자]
This year, three domestic electric vehicle battery companies are expected to dominate the market through aggressive investments along with improving profitability.
The order backlog that each company has already secured is known to be 160 trillion won for LG Energy Solutions, 60 trillion won for Samsung SDI, and 50 trillion won for SK Innovation.
In addition, LG Energy Solution’s estimated operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year was 200 billion won, recording the first annual surplus, and Samsung SDI’s mid- to large-sized battery division, including electric vehicle batteries, is expected to turn to the black.
In the face of fierce market share competition with Chinese and Japanese companies, we are also accelerating the development of high-capacity batteries with increased mileage by increasing the proportion of nickel.
As early as the first half of this year, Samsung is planning to release a product that increases the energy density and reduces the cost by raising the nickel content to 88% in the cathode material.
LG is also planning to supply a battery with an expanded nickel content of 90% to Tesla in the second half of this year, and SK is also developing a battery with a higher proportion of nickel.
“Because we are developing a wide variety of alternative technologies to compensate for our weaknesses… I think the superiority of the technology or the direction of commercialization will be determined depending on what technology the finished car makers choose based on which technology.”
In addition, LG is promoting an investment of KRW 10 trillion, including the establishment of a new plant in Indonesia and the procurement of nickel from local mines.
It seems to be a strategy to reduce dependence on China in supplying raw materials by increasing production capacity to prepare for supply shortages and securing raw materials for lithium-ion battery cathode materials containing nickel and cobalt.
This is Yonhap News TV Kim Ji-soo.
Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: katok/line jebo23
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