Hyundai Motor Group, SK Innovation team up on hybrid EV batteries

Published : Apr 16, 2021 - 15:49 Updated : Apr 16, 2021 - 15:49

From left are Choi Woo-suk, head of the Electrification Development Center at Hyundai Motor Group; Kim Yoo-suk, head of SK Innovation’s battery marketing division; Park Chan-young, executive coordinator within the powertrain auto parts purchasing division at Hyundai Motor Group; and Lee Jang-won, director of SK Innovation’s battery research institute. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Hyundai Motor and Kia, Hyundai Motor Group’s two automakers, are joining hands with SK Innovation to develop batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, the group said Friday.

The auto group will work with the country’s leading battery producer, SK Innovation, to develop “pouch-style” batteries optimized for electric vehicles. They hope to apply the batteries to Hyundai’s hybrid electric vehicles slated for release in 2024.

The partnership will boost the country’s technology and its competitiveness in the battery business and will also set a new example of cross-sector cooperation, the auto group said.

This is not the first time Hyundai Motor and SK Innovation have collaborated. In 2010, Hyundai Motor used SK Innovation’s lithium-polymer battery pack in its first electric vehicle, the BlueOn. SK Innovation has also been selected as a supplier for Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6, the latest electric vehicles built on E-GMP, Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle platform.

“We will be able to step up the competitiveness of our eco-friendly vehicles by cooperating with SK Innovation, a global battery technology company,” said Park Chan-young, an executive coordinator at Hyundai Motor Company.

SK Innovation said it was glad to cooperate with Hyundai Motor and Kia, both prominent producers of complete vehicles, and expressed determination to lead the mobility industry with the automakers by creating synergy through its battery technology and its manufacturing capabilities.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)