Korean battery makers to show how far they've come at InterBattery 2023

Industry

Published: 09 Mar. 2023, 16:55 Updated: 09 Mar. 2023, 17:49

Korean battery makers to show how far they've come at InterBattery 2023

A rendered image of LG Energy Solution's booth at the upcoming 2023 InterBattery, which will kick off on March 15 at Coex in southern Seoul. [LG ENERGY SOLUTION]

InterBattery 2023 will be a place for Korean battery makers to prove how well they have prepared themselves to compete with fast-growing Chinese rivals like CATL and BYD.

A series of cheaper batteries are expected to be shown off, including lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries and “cobalt-free” batteries, along with solid-state batteries touted as "dream batteries.”

LG Energy Solution said Thursday it will display LFP batteries at the country’s largest battery fair set to kick off on March 15.

The LFP battery sector is currently dominated by Chinese manufacturers.

Though they have a lower energy density, LFP batteries also have a lower fire risk and are around 30 percent cheaper than nickel, manganese and cobalt (NMC) batteries, in which Korean makers hold a firmer standing.

SK On's prismatic battery [SK ON]

Demand for LFP batteries is rising globally, with Ford recently announcing a licensing deal with CATL for its $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan. Tesla is already using LFP batteries in its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

Ford’s Mustang Mach-E and Lucid Motors’ Lucid Air sedan will be on display at the center of its 648-square-meter (6,975-square-foot) booth, both models that are not yet available in Korea. LG Energy supplies batteries for the two models.

KooRoo, a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) venture of LG Energy, will introduce the concept of a Battery Swapping Station, where EV drivers can simply exchange batteries instead of charging them when they are exhausted.

SK On, a subsidiary of SK Innovation and a supplier to Ford, will focus more on introducing a variety of different battery types, from LFP batteries to prismatic batteries.

The company said it will display a prismatic cell mockup for the first time. SK On’s product portfolio has long been concentrated on pouch-type batteries.

SK’s prismatic battery is known for its fast charging, even faster than its Super-Fast battery, which allows a car to be charged to 80 percent in only 18 minutes.

Rendered image of SK On's booth at the InterBattery 2023 [SK ON]

A prototype LFP battery will also be on display, which the company said improved one of the major disadvantages of LFPs in which the battery capacity is reduced by 70 percent at temperatures around minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit).

SK On will also be the only Korean company to introduce batteries completely free of cobalt, one of the most expensive components that determines EV prices.

Its concept sample of a solid-state battery will also be present, which has dramatically high energy density and safety but has yet to be commercialized by any company in the world.

Samsung SDI will be introducing its prismatic-, cylindrical- and pouch-type batteries at the fair, along with its latest technology of solid-state batteries.

Samsung SDI is one of the frontrunners developing the dream batteries, with its pilot plant in Suwon, Gyeonggi, expected to be completed within the first half.

Korean battery makers are rapidly losing ground against Chinese companies, with the three companies holding a combined 23.7 percent of the global EV battery market last year, down 6.5 percentage points from the same period a year earlier.

Chinese companies held 60.4 percent of the battery market last year, compared to 48.2 percent in 2021.

Hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, around 450 battery and materials companies from 15 countries will participate at the fair, which will likely attract more than 40,000 visitors.

The InterBattery 2023 will run from March 15 to 17 at Coex in southern Seoul.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]