S. Korean battery trio to showcase future EV battery tech at InterBattery 2021

Three Korean battery makers are set to showcase their next-generation battery products and technologies at a major industry fair to get ahead in the toughening competition in the fast growing electric vehicle battery market, the companies said Tuesday.

LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co., and SK Innovation Co. will introduce their latest battery products and sustainable business models at InterBattery 2021, which runs from Wednesday to Friday at the Convention & Exhibition Center in southern Seoul.

InterBattery is the nation's leading battery industry exhibition hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which will be attended by about 230 companies at home and from abroad, according to the organizer.

This year, the companies are expected to tout their lithium-ion battery technology that enhanced the energy density and capacity with higher nickel content.

The major advantage of using nickel in batteries is that it helps deliver higher energy density and greater storage capacity at a lower cost.

LG Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd., said it will present NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) cathode materials used in EV batteries, which raised the nickel content to about 90 percent to improve energy density.

Tesla is expected to become the first automaker to use LG's new NCMA battery cells later this year, according to industry sources. LG Energy did not comment on the deal with its client.

Samsung SDI, which supplies batteries to BMW, said it will exhibit the Gen. 5 battery, its own version of a high-performance battery with nearly 90 percent nickel composition, to be released in the latter half.

The company said EVs equipped with the Gen. 5 battery will have a driving range of over 600 kilometers per single charge to improve the key parameter for EVs' performance.

SK Innovation said its exhibition hall will showcase various EVs models equipped with its lithium-ion battery products, including Hyundai Motor Co.'s Ioniq 5 and Ford's F-150 pickup truck. Kia Corp.'s upcoming EV6 will be shown in a three-dimensional image.

SK Innovation will introduce its NCM9, its latest nickel cobalt manganese battery cell with 90 percent nickel content to be topped on the F-150, as well as battery separator, battery cell and pack technology.

The annual industry fair is expected to draw keen attention from global automakers, battery material providers and related industries as Korean battery makers are aggressively expanding investment in developing new technologies, securing raw materials and creating new business models.

The three Korean EV battery makers accounted for 32 percent of the global market in the first four months of this year, supplying a combined 65.8 gigawatt-hour (GWh) equivalents of EV batteries, according to the data from SNE Research.

LG Energy accounted for 21.5 percent, remaining the world's No. 2, after China's CATL with 32.5 percent. Samsung SDI and SK Innovation took fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Their sales of EV batteries sharply rose in line with solid demand for battery-powered vehicles by major automakers, but the combined share declined from last year's 37.8 percent as Chinese manufacturers expanded their presence on their home turf, the world's top EV market. (Yonhap)