Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Samsung SDI reviews setting up battery joint venture project
Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook, third from left, looks around a booth during the InterBattery tech fair at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday, along with SK Innovation's battery division CEO Ji Dong-seop, from left, Samsung SDI CEO Jun Young-hyun and POSCO Chemical CEO Min Kyung-jun. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
With more electric vehicles (EVs) expected to hit the roads, rechargeable battery makers are accelerating efforts to add more battery manufacturing plants to secure a lead in the rapidly-growing market.
They are especially targeting the U.S., where the Biden administration is pushing to foster the EV industry.
Samsung SDI CEO Jun Young-hyun said Wednesday that the company is reviewing whether it will establish a rechargeable battery manufacturing plant in the U.S.
“It depends on customers and the market situation. We are in the process of reviewing it,” Jun said when asked whether the company will establish a battery manufacturing plant in the U.S., during the InterBattery event, a tech fair held in Seoul, focusing on the battery business.
When asked about the possibility of establishing a joint venture with a local carmaker, the CEO said, “The company is thinking about it, leaving the possibility open.”
Samsung SDI runs rechargeable battery manufacturing plants in Korea, Hungary and China and also operates a plant in the U.S. state of Michigan that assembles battery packs. Industry watchers say that Samsung SDI is slightly behind its local competitors ― LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation ― which are actively establishing rechargeable battery joint ventures with U.S. automotive giants GM and Ford, respectively.
Jun also stressed that the government needs to provide more support to foster talented workers for the battery industry. “The secondary battery business is growing, but we are also experiencing a shortage of manpower,” he said. “As we have seen rapid growth in the secondary battery business, we need government support to foster talented people so that companies in the industry can grow together.”
Visitors to the InterBattery tech fair take a look at Samsung SDI's Gen. 5 battery for electric cars, at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
SK Innovation's (SKI) battery chief said that the company is on-track to decide on the precise location for its new battery joint venture project. The joint venture project with Ford is called BlueOvalSK, and will be established in the U.S. state of Ohio, where its cross-town rival, LG Energy Solution (LGES), also operates a battery plant, according to news reports.
“We are looking at four or five sites for possible battery cell plants for the joint venture,” Ji Dong-seop, SKT's battery head, told reporters at the fair. “We will proceed with the plan as soon as the location is decided.”
SKI recently revealed its plan to establish BlueOvalSK with Ford.
Samsung SDI and SKI ranked fifth and sixth in the global EV battery market in the first quarter, with shares of 5.3 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, according to SNE Research. CATL led the market with 31.5 percent, followed by LGES with 20.5 percent.
The InterBattery tech fair is a three-day expo focusing on the country's battery industry. Thanks to the government's drive to foster the secondary battery business as its major export, the annual event has become one of the world's largest battery-related tech shows, along with the Battery Japan event and the China International Battery Fair. Featuring 229 companies, the event will run until Friday.
Visitors to POSCO Chemical's booth at the InterBattery fair in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of POSCO Chemical
Among the participating companies, POSCO Chemical, the battery material affiliate of steel giant POSCO, showcased its latest high-tech materials, such as high-nickel cathodes, a key component of EV batteries.