According to foreign media reports, the head of battery research at SK Innovation in South Korea said the company plans to deliver solid-state batteries two years or more ahead of its competitors by 2025.
The development of solid-state battery is highly anticipated by the industry. Solid-state batteries are safer and cheaper and are likely to be an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, accelerating the popularity of electric vehicles. Solid-state battery technology has the potential to reduce the charging time of electric vehicles from a few hours to about 10 minutes. "We plan to use nickel-cobalt-manganese cathodes and silicon or graphite anodes in solid-state batteries by 2025 and introduce lithium-metal anode batteries by 2030," said Seongjun Lee, head of battery research at SK Innovation.
SK Innovation's rival LG Energy Solutions says it will commercialize solid-state batteries between 2027 and 2030. Samsung SDI is expected to start mass production of solid-state batteries in 2027, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF).
SK Innovation has never made plans for the development of the next generation of batteries before. The solid-state battery delivery plan comes as, SK Innovation tries to expand its global reach, while rival LG apologizes to the public for recalling $1.9 billion worth of Chevrolet Bolt after the battery caught fire. "our batteries have never caused a fire, and we have the best battery technology in the world-high nickel batteries," Lee said in an interview on Oct. 28.
SK Innovation said its battery sales rose 68% in the third quarter to 816.8 billion won ($691 million). The day before the release of the third-quarter results, SK Innovation announced that it would work with US solid-state battery maker Solid Power to develop and produce solid-state batteries.
As part of the agreement with Solid Power, SK Innovation will invest $30 million in Solid Power, which plans to go public through a reverse merger. BMW has also joined the competition, planning to build a prototype with solid-state batteries by 2025, while Toyota aims to commercialize solid-state battery electric vehicles between 2025 and 2030.
"our partnership with SK is so important because our business model does not allow us to mass-produce batteries in the automotive industry," Douglas Campbell, chief executive of, Solid Power, said in October.
Solid Power has reached an agreement with Ford and BMW to test solid-state batteries on the automakers' cars. Campbell said in an interview in September that if it succeeds in making solid-state batteries, it will deliver them in 2022, fully produce them in 2025, and mass-produce solid-state batteries for cars by 2026. He also said, Solid Power would seek to work with carmakers or existing battery makers for full production.
"SK Innovation chose to work with Solid Power because its sulfur electrolyte is of high quality and can convert some lithium-ion battery production lines into solid-state battery production lines," Lee said. SK Innovation's goal is to produce solid-state batteries on 60 to 70 per cent of battery production lines in the future.
Lee also added that, SK Innovation is mainly looking for partners in the United States. "
Jinsuk Yu, head of business strategy at, SK Innovation, said on an October earnings call that the company was looking for a variety of partners, especially to address issues such as lithium dendrites, when asked about solid-state batteries. Improper use of the charger and overcharging of the battery will lead to the formation of a sharp structure on the negative electrode of the battery, called lithium dendrites (dendrites), which can break through the Barrier between the negative and positive electrodes, causing the battery to short circuit and causing a fire.
Hyun-Su Kim, a fund manager at IBK Asset Management, said, "the SK Group has a good reputation for investment strategy, especially in mergers and acquisitions. If SK invests in a project, even on a small scale, we need to pay attention to it. "
