Major South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI has been mainly focused on the ternary and quaternary technologies. Recently, however, it has become increasingly interested in developing offerings based on the LFP technology that provides a significant cost advantage and a massive market potential.
This year, Samsung has been signaling that it will enter the market for LFP batteries. Pilot production is expected to commence for LFP batteries and batteries that feature a nickel-plus-manganese cathode later this year. The company is setting a production line in the South Korean city of Cheonan for the manufacturing of LFP battery cells that are 46mm in diameter. This production line is scheduled to begin manufacturing sample products in the third quarter of this year at the earliest. Also, Samsung SDI intends to begin producing type-4680 cylindrical cells that power Tesla’s Model Y as soon as possible.
Samsung SDI announced on March 16 that following a shareholders’ meeting, the company has confirmed that it is going to develop LFP batteries. Choi Yoon-ho, CEO of Samsung SDI, said LFP batteries represent one of the major battery powertrain platforms for electric cars. He added that his company has to make efforts in developing LFP batteries in order to meet the demands from various customers and diversify its product portfolio.
Lately, Samsung SDI has also revealed its plan to leverage its expertise in MLCCs to build prototype production lines for solid-state batteries. The company currently aims to finish setting up these production lines have them manufacture prototypes by the end of this year. The company also said it will be conducting multiple tests to ensure the structural integrity of its new solid-state batteries.
In March 2022, Samsung SDI announced that it would set up a trial production line for manufacturing solid-state batteries in Yeongton-gu, a district in the South Korean city of Suwon. The production line, which is named the “S-line”, would take up an area of 65,000 square meters.
The S-line would consist special equipment for manufacturing the all-solid-state battery that would be designed by Samsung SDI. There would be equipment and tools for manufacturing electrode plates and electrolyte. There would also be an assembly system that ensures smooth process for ion transfer and cell construction. Samsung SDI stated that new process technologies and other critical kinds of infrastructure would be deployed.
Samsung SDI has already successfully developed and synthesize an electrolyte for all-solid-state batteries, thereby enabling the construction of prototype. The company touts that it is the technological leader in the field of solid-state batteries. Additionally, the company has also independently developed a lithium-based anode that could deliver the highest level of energy density and operational safety in the battery industry.
This article is a translation of a Chinese article posted by TrendForce. It contains information that is either sourced from other news outlets or accessible in the public domain. Some Chinese names are transcribed into English using Hanyu Pinyin.