After US ruling, LG wins battery contract with Lucid
LG Chem employees holding rigid-type battery packs at its battery manufacturing line in Ochang, South Korea, Tuesday. Courtesy of LG Chem
By Kim Yoo-chul
Just a few weeks after a U.S. International Trade Commission panel ruled in favor of LG Chem, which had accused its cross-town rival SK Innovation (SKI) of stealing trade secrets, the LG Group's battery affiliate said Tuesday it has won a new battery contract with Lucid Motors.
In a statement, LG Chem said it will supply its batteries to the electric car startup until at least 2023. The statement also said the supply contract was exclusive to LG.
Lucid is making moves in the global electric vehicle market chasing the success of Tesla. Along with Japan's Panasonic, LG Chem is also Tesla's top-tier battery supplier.
Regarding the estimated monetary value of the newly-signed contract, LG Chem spokesman C.S. Song said the two companies agreed not to unveil the specifics of the deal.
With the procurement of LG Chem-manufactured cells, Lucid plans to test the stability of its standard versions of the Air sedan. Whether or not the venture intends to expand the usage of LG Chem products for the more publicized version of the electric car has yet to be revealed.
“The agreement with LG Chem puts Lucid on the best possible path to production for the Lucid Air, ensuring the necessary energy density and cell availability to fulfill our promise of class-leading range to consumers,” Lucid Motors CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said in a statement.
Its partnership with LG was thanks to Lucid's belief that LG's round-type batteries provide the ideal level of efficiency, with those products optimized to Lucid in terms of energy density, recharge and even discharge rates, according to officials. Actual production will take place at an Arizona-based facility late this year.
Unlike rigid-type battery cells, round-type battery cells are ideally-positioned to manufacture more compact, energy-enriched battery packs, helping car manufacturers and electric vehicle startups to possibly develop premium design-centric vehicles.
Top-tier automakers are busy scrambling to lock in a stable supply of batteries, considered as the core and most expensive part of today's electric vehicles, in order to meet strengthening emissions rules by governments and consumers' growing shift towards an eco-friendly vehicles.
On a related note, the default judgment by the United States International Trade Commission signified SK Innovation could be banned from selling its battery products and other relevant parts in the United States where it is a supplier to Volkswagen and Ford.