Korea’s SK On Aims to Best Rivals With Next-Generation Batteries

SK Innovation Co. battery cells for electric vehicle (EV) at the InterBattery 2021 in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. Global electric-vehicle battery sales more than doubled in the first four months of the year as the switch to environmentally-friendly cars gathers pace. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg Photo by SeongJoon Cho /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — SK Innovation Co.’s battery unit plans to accelerate development of cutting-edge technologies in partnership with US and European carmakers, its R&D chief said, aiming to win back market share from peers in China and South Korea.

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SK On is focused on honing its edge in thermal management technology, such as immersion cooling designed to boost the efficiency of batteries for AI data centers, energy storage systems and electric vehicles, Park Kisoo, head of the company’s research and development arm, said in an interview. The battery specialist already is in talks with Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. to collaborate on the cutting-edge tech, he said. 

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A representative for Ford declined to comment. Hyundai didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The push comes amid a broad reorganization of the SK group, a leading South Korean conglomerate, which plans to merge money-losing SK On with more profitable sister company SK Enmove in a bid to stabilize its balance sheet. The move follows another in-group transaction by SK On’s parent company a year ago with a similar goal of shoring up finances as the battery unit pursues aggressive expansion overseas. 

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The Korean company operates two standalone battery plants in Georgia which supply Ford and Volkswagen AG, and is planning another facility in the state with Hyundai. SK On and Ford received a $9.63 billion loan from the US government late last year to build two battery factories in Kentucky and another in neighboring Tennessee. They have paused plans for a battery plant in Canada. SK On also has battery production facilities in China, Europe and at home in South Korea.

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Park said his R&D center will spur internal efforts to diversify suppliers and strengthen supply chains to bolster the company’s US production and ramp up its energy storage business there. 

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EV demand is set to decline further with the looming end of US tax credits in September, but the R&D chief sees global sales rebounding as early as late 2027 — if automakers can close the price gap between EVs and gas-powered vehicles. 

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“For many EV drivers, there’s no going back, and the penetration rate is only set to grow in China and elsewhere,” Park said. 

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SK On also is targeting development of solid-state batteries by the end of 2027 and mass production of them from 2029, he said. Semi solid-state batteries, a hybrid version of current and next-generation tech, could be commercialized even sooner.  

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“When the world of solid-state batteries arrives, it will definitely be first applied in pouch-type cells in which we already have a technological edge,” Park said. “That could be a weapon that can help us beat China.”

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Solid-state batteries are more powerful, durable, faster to charge and safer than the lithium-ion cells currently dominating the EV sector. That’s set off a global race to bring those batteries to market among top suppliers, including China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. and BYD Co. as well as South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd. and Samsung SDI Co.

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