Home > Business > Industry

Samsung SDI ships first batch of 46-series batteries to U.S.

Published: 31 Mar. 2025, 12:37 Updated: 31 Mar. 2025, 17:02

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Samsung SDI workers pose for a photo at a ceremony commemorating the battery maker's first shipment of 46-phi battery modules to an unidentified U.S. client at the firm's Vietnamese subsidiary. [SAMSUNG SDI]

Samsung SDI shipped its first batch of 46-phi battery modules to a U.S. customer, with production commencing a year earlier than planned, the battery firm said Monday.

This makes Samsung SDI the first Korean firm to supply 46-series cylindrical batteries to an overseas client.

The 46-series batteries are categorized by their diameter of 46 millimeters (1.8 inches). Its larger size makes for higher energy density, improved space efficiency and enhanced safety, or around six times the capacity of the preceding 2170 batteries.

The undisclosed U.S. client will use the batteries, measuring 46 millimeters in diameter and 95 millimeters in height, for micro mobility applications.

The battery modules, made with high-nickel NCA cathodes and proprietary SCN anodes, were produced at Samsung SDI’s plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, and assembled into modules at the firm’s Vietnamese subsidiary.

They were produced more than a year earlier than planned thanks to a breakthrough in technology, optimizing manufacturing and quality management, the company said.

The manufacturer heightened the energy density and lifespan of the products while preventing the batteries from swelling to make them more secure. A table design where the electrodes are connected directly to the current collectors without traditional tabs was also implemented — this provided higher output by improving the current flow path and reducing internal resistance by 90 percent.

Samsung SDI unveiled four 46-phi batteries at InterBattery 2025, Korea’s largest trade show, early in March. The company is set to start mass production within this year’s first quarter.

The firm is currently in talks with EV manufacturers on 46-series sales, and expects to supply them in the near future, the battery maker said.

The global market for 46-series cylindrical batteries is forecast to grow from 155 gigawatts this year to 650 gigawatts in 2030 at an annual growth rate of 33 percent, according to market researcher SNE Research.

"The company has diversified its product portfolio with the initial supply of 46-series batteries," a Samsung SDI spokesperson said. "The company will continue efforts to take the lead in the 46-series market with differentiated manufacturing technology and quality."

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]