LG, Samsung, SK focus on prismatic batteries

Seen above are Samsung SDI's prismatic batteries. Courtesy of Samsung SDI

Korea’s major battery manufacturers — LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On — are betting big on prismatic batteries due to their superior safety compared to the pouch-type option, according to data and company officials, Monday.

The move appears inevitable as global electric vehicle (EV) makers face a steep rise in demand for prismatic batteries, seeking to mitigate safety concerns amid ongoing reports of EV fires worldwide.

LG Energy Solution, the nation’s largest battery firm by market capitalization, is jumping on the bandwagon by establishing an internal task force to mass-produce prismatic batteries. The company has so far focused on manufacturing pouch and cylindrical batteries.

The company has had to shift its strategic focus to prismatic batteries, as a growing number of major EV makers favor them, according to data.

The share for pouch-type batteries in Europe was the highest, with 46 percent in 2019, followed by cylindrical batteries, whose market share reached 35 percent at that time, according to the market tracker SNE Research. Prismatic batteries came in third with 19 percent.

However, the landscape has rapidly changed over the past few years. In 2023, prismatic batteries accounted for 49 percent of the battery market in Europe, while those of pouch and cylindrical types plunged to 35 percent and 16 percent, respectively, during the same period.

Samsung SDI also offered a positive outlook on the growth of the prismatic battery industry.

“Prismatic batteries will gradually widen its portion in the global EV market, as is shown by growing request for collaboration from EV manufacturers,” Samsung SDI Executive Vice President Michael Son said in a recent conference call.

Earlier, Volkswagen shared its plan to equip 80 percent of its EVs with prismatic batteries in 2030.

SK On is also moving to invest more in the research and development of prismatic batteries.

“We have already completed technological development for prismatic batteries, so as for us to build a diversified portfolio to cover all EV segments down the road,” SK Innovation Vice President Jun Hyun-wook told investors during a conference call earlier this month.