South Korean EV batteries manufacturers increase market share

According to SNE Research and its data for the global EV battery usage in February 2020, the South Korean companies have gained a total of 42% of the market share, which is deemed as a real breakthrough. Panasonic is first with 34.1%. LG Chem is second with 29.6%. CATL is third with 9.4%. AESC Japan is fourth with 7.7%. Samsung SDI is fifth with 6.5% and SK Innovation is sixth with 5.9% market share. They are...

2 April 2020

Today, Toyota and BYD announced that the registration of their 50-50% joint venture company is completed. The new company is named BYD Toyota Technology Co., LTD. and will be based in Shenzhen, China. Its main goal will be to research and develop battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and related technologies. New Chairman Hirohisa Kishi said with regard to the establishment of the company, "With the engineers from BYD...

2 April 2020

At an online launch event, BYD presented its Blade Battery technology which is focused on battery safety in electric vehicles. Wang Chuanfu, BYD Chairman and President, said that it reflects BYD's determination to resolve issues in battery safety while also redefining safety standards for the entire industry. "In terms of battery safety and energy density, BYD's Blade Battery has obvious advantages," said Professor...

30 March 2020

LG Chem Wroclaw Energy will receive a €480 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The money will be used for the construction and operation of highly automated and innovative manufacturing facilities for advanced lithium-ion cells and batteries for battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs). The EIB financing will cover around a third of the total project costs, estimated at €1.5 billion. The remainder...

26 March 2020

South Korean news outlet The Guru reports that according to industry sources, Audi is prepping a battery assembly plant near its production facility in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. In February, Audi had to pause the production of the e-tron due to battery supply shortages. With its ambitious plan to invest 12 billion euros i in developing electric vehicle lineups, battery supply must be overcome as a bottleneck. By...

25 March 2020

According to the latest reports from South Korea, LG Chem has introduced a production process that can increase the production of EV batteries. The new process increases the capacity of the equipment for battery materials. Along with the wide-range and high-speed technologies used in the assembly process, it is expected to help significantly in enhancing battery productivity. According to industry reports from...

25 March 2020

LG Chem has announced that it has purchased a plant in Poland that belonged to the Turkish TV brand Vestel. The deal for acquiring the television assembly factory was for US$31.4 million and the site will be restructured for EV batteries production. It is near the already existing LG Chem plant for EV batteries in Wroclaw, Poland. The factory covers an area of ​​223,000 square meters and is expected to create...

3 March 2020

Adamas Intelligence reports that in 2019, over 14,400 tonnes of cobalt were deployed globally in batteries of newly sold passenger BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs. This is a 34% YoY increase. CATL has the largest portion of the pie - 21% LG Chem is second with 20%, Panasonic comes third with 17%. The fourth and fifth place are taken by BYD and Samsung SDI with 11% and 9%, respectively.

28 February 2020

Korea Herald reports that according to industry sources, Rivian is in talks with Samsung SDI for battery supply. This has been made as a conclusion after high-ranking officials of the two companies recently held a meeting that's supposed to conclude the deal. When asked to comment, an official at Samsung SDI said: "The company can’t reveal any details related to its customer." Three days ago, Lucid announced that it...

27 February 2020

The standard versions of Lucid Air will use LG Chem batteries. That was announced earlier by Lucid Motors. Under the agreement, the Korean giant will supply battery cells to Lucid up to 2023. "The agreement with LG Chem puts Lucid on the best possible path to production for the Lucid Air, ensuring the necessary energy density and cell availability to fulfill our promise of class-leading range to consumers," said CEO...

24 February 2020

Samsung SDI and Glencore have signed an agreement for a cobalt hydroxide supply according to which Glencore will provide up to 21,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in cobalt hydroxide between 2020 and 2024. The raw material will be sourced from Glencore's DRC site and both companies are committed to ensuring the ethical and responsible production and procurement of cobalt. Both parties agree that Glencore's DRC...

10 February 2020

SNE Research has come up with the annual global EV battery usage for 2019. The data is based on information about the sales of electric vehicles (EV, PHEV, HEV) in 76 countries across the globe and data on batteries installed in electric vehicles registered during this year. The statistics show that the three major Korean manufacturers have increased their market share in terms of sales. CATL is on top, followed by...

10 February 2020

Toyota and Panasonic have announced the establishing a 51:49 joint-venture which will focus on the development, manufacture, and sales of automotive prismatic batteries, solid-state batteries and other types of next-generation batteries. This happens a year after the two companies agreed on establishing such a JV. The JV will be named Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc. and will start operation on April 1, 2020...

3 February 2020

South Korean media report that LG Chem has succeeded in upgrading its EV battery production process. The upgrade is the applying of an ultra-thin (6 μm) copper foil used as a current collector of a battery negative electrode. This new foil has been proven to work successfully for a year and mass production is being prepared at the LG Chem Nanjing plant in China. Up to now, LG Chem was using 7-15 μm foils for its EV...

29 January 2020