Samsung SDI to supply EV batteries to Hyundai Motor in Europe
Samsung SDI's P6 prismatic batteries / Courtesy of Samsung SDI
Samsung SDI signed a contract with Hyundai Motor to supply batteries from 2026 to 2032 for the carmaker’s next-generation electric vehicles (EVs) targeting the European market, the battery maker said Monday.
Hyundai Motor has used batteries from LG Energy Solution and SK On, but this is the first time it has joined with Samsung SDI for its EV battery supply.
Although the deal’s size has been kept confidential, Samsung SDI is expected to supply 40 gigawatt-hours of its P6 sixth-edition prismatic batteries, which is enough to supply 500,000 EVs. Which Hyundai Motor vehicles will use the Samsung SDI batteries remains unknown.
According to Samsung SDI, P6 batteries feature a 91 percent nickel-high NCA cathode and the company’s proprietary silicon-based anode, maximizing energy density to the highest level.
Given that P6 batteries will be manufactured at Samsung SDI’s Hungary plant and supplied to Hyundai Motor’s production facility in Europe, the battery maker is said to be planning to increase the production capacity of its factory in the Hungarian city of God.
There is also a dominant view that Hyundai Motor will seek to sell premium EVs equipped with highly value-added P6 batteries in the European market. For the carmaker, the deal is expected to provide a crucial chance to increase the adoption of prismatic batteries.
“We have taken the very first step forward with Hyundai Motor which is leading the global automobile industry,” Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho said. “Our company will make its best efforts to help Hyundai Motor reinforce its global market leadership by expanding long-term partnership with the automaker by providing the customer with unrivaled technologies and supreme quality.”
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left, shakes hands with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, during a New Year's Greeting event at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Seoul in this 2019 file photo. Joint Press Corps
The latest partnership between Samsung SDI and Hyundai Motor came three years after Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun met at the battery maker’s factory in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
Their meeting drew huge attention at that time as it was the first meeting of the conglomerates for business purposes.
Since then, both companies have been collaborating to develop batteries for next-generation EVs.