LG Energy Solution said Friday that it will invest 5 trillion won ($4.42 billion) through 2025 to build at least two more electric vehicle battery factories in the United States. Set for completion in 2025, the new factories will offer 70 gigawatt-hours of additional annual battery production capacity in the US. LG Energy Solution currently has one local electric vehicle battery production facility in Michigan that is capable of producing 5 gigawatt-hours. “The Green New Deal in the U

Korea Aerospace Industries said Thursday it will utilize virtual and augmented realty technologies in its jet trainer system. 　 South Korea’s sole aircraft developer will develop the live-virtual-constructive system, which offers live maneuvering simulation, war game and virtual and constructive trainings. KAI has supplied 50 sets of training systems to 16 countries. Since 2016, the company has conducted and commissioned independent research and developed ways to integrate jet, simula

SK Innovation said Thursday that its board of directors had ordered the establishment of a “complete global compliance system” in response to the ongoing battery dispute with LG Energy Solution in the US. At an audit committee meeting, held Wednesday and attended by all the company’s outside directors, board members lashed out at the management, saying the company’s “lack of experience in global disputes” had resulted in its defeat in the US’ top tra

On March 11, 2011, the strongest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history triggered a 15-meter tsunami, which swept over the Fukushima nuclear power plant’s 5-meter seawall in what soon came to be known as the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. A decade has passed, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits and worries about radiation levels persist. The decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars, experts say. Sou

South Korea’s leading battery maker LG Energy Solution is in the race for mass production of a new type of battery cells designed in-house by and under pilot production at Tesla, according to industry sources and media reports. The Korean firm, which currently supplies cylindrical batteries that contain 80 percent nickel to Tesla Model 3 sedans manufactured in China, is making preparations for its major client’s future deployment of larger-format batteries, referred to as 4680 ce

S-Oil said Wednesday it will deploy drones and smart helmets at all business sites by 2023 to accelerate its digital transformation. According to the South Korean refinery, drones will fly above 100 meters at its plants and check the safety of flare stacks, a gas combustion device in the shape of a chimney designed to burn unwanted or excess gases. The drones will provide video feeds and analysis of the facilities. “Digital transformation is not a matter of choice, but a must to comp

Samsung SDI spent a record 808.3 billion won ($710.2 million) on research and development for next-generation electric vehicle batteries in 2020. According to its annual report, released Tuesday, the amount was 7.2 percent of its revenue last year. “The investment is the seed of Samsung SDI’s future growth engine as the company prepares for the upcoming era of electric vehicles,” a company official said. This is the first time that Samsung SDI’s battery R&D sp

Calls to regulate the gaming industry are growing in South Korea after local game companies have come under fire for what users call a “deceptive” system of randomized, for-purchase game items. Yeo Myung-sook, the former head of the Game Rating and Administration Committee, threw her weight behind the pro-regulation argument, saying that games with a loot box feature, which offers randomized in-game items for sale, should be subject to the same tax imposed on casinos. “Ga

South Koreans’ love of golf has led to a flourishing culture of indoor golf, played on driving ranges that have been graphically or photographically simulated on screens. Now a gaming company has introduced an artificial intelligence-based service so that golfers can work on their skills at home. On Feb. 25 Kakao Games, the gaming unit of the country’s leading messenger app operator, launched a golf training app that allows newbie golfers to practice and correct their swings in

Battery metal prices are going through the roof due to explosive global demand for electric vehicles, threatening to undermine their price competitiveness against internal combustion vehicles. According to Swedish market tracker EV Volumes, global electric vehicle sales in 2020 spiked to 3.24 million units, up 43 percent from 2.26 million on-year, triggering a surge in the price of raw materials for lithium-ion batteries. Nickel and cobalt registered prices at 17-month and 24-month highs, res

S-Oil said Sunday it has purchased a 20 percent stake in advanced hydrogen fuel cell developer Fuel Cell Innovations. According to the South Korean refinery, the strategic investment will allow S-Oil to become the biggest shareholder of FCI and secure technologies for next-generation solid oxide fuel cells, or SOFCs. Compared to conventional fuel cells, SOFCs have a competitive edge in price, as they use nickel as a catalyst, instead of platinum, to generate electricity. They can also turn m

Kim Dong-kwan, the heir apparent of South Korea’s defense-to-finance conglomerate Hanwha and the mastermind behind its advancements in the solar power industry, will lead the group’s space satellite business, the group said Sunday. The 37-year-old chief executive of Hanwha Solutions and the eldest son of Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn will head aerospace task force “Space Hub,” which will comprise key personnel and engineers from Hanwha affiliates. The move fo

South Korea signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to cooperate on the hydrogen economy, further expanding their partnership currently focused on nuclear energy, oil and gas. During the Korea-UAE Industry and Energy Cooperation Forum held online, South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Al Jaber inked a memorandum of understanding to share hydrogen trade regulations and policies and establish a

The US Transportation Department will brief President Joe Biden on how a recent court decision to impose a 10-year import ban on SK Innovation will impact his green transportation goals. During a hearing held Wednesday, freshman Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, asked Polly Trottenberg, nominee for deputy secretary of the transportation department, whether she would provide the president an analysis of the ruling’s expected effect on his green transportation goals.

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Wednesday it has developed a new material that enhances the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by 20 percent while maintaining their stability. According to a research led by Cho Eun-ae, materials science and engineering safety professor at KAIST, lithium-ion batteries that contain 80 percent nickel inside cathodes demonstrate energy capacity of 200 ampere-hours per gram. However, the newly developed cathode materials can accommodate