It is reported that South Korea will record its biggest exportation of batteries this year and make close to $5 billion. As exportation started to recover in the second half after it faced a setback in the first half due to the global pandemic, the country expects to make its biggest amount of battery exports this year. Increased electric vehicle batteries mainly from Europe, the United States, and China have been the major factor. It is expected that LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation, which are the three major battery makers in South Korea, will be able to break this year’s record as they continue to improve their high-nickel battery technologies to separate themselves from their competitors.
According to the Korea Customs Service and the South Korean battery industry, amount of battery exports for South Korea this year is expected to surpass last year’s amount, which was $4.67756 billion, and be the biggest amount in the country’s history ever. Such amazing feat is mainly due to the fact that there have been increased demands for batteries from automakers in Europe, the United States, and China, as they enforce environmental regulations and push for more supplies of electric vehicles. According to the Korea Customs Service’s statistics, amount of lithium-ion battery exports from January to November was $4.41286 billion that is a 4.4% increase compared to the same period in 2019. This upward trend is expected to continue until the end of this year resulting in total of $4.9 billion from battery exports in 2020. The amount will be the biggest amount ever since statistics on battery exports began in 2012.
“Lithium-ion battery has clearly been established as a new pillar of South Korea’s exports, and the global battery market’s forecast in 2021 is also looking very bright.” said one official from the Korea Customs Service on December 27. “There is a very good chance that the total amount of battery exports will exceed $5 billion in 2021.”

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<Researchers from LG Energy Solution are observing the company’s battery cells.>

All three battery makers’ main production bases are located in South Korea. LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation have their production bases in Ochang, Ulsan, and Seosan respectively and are responding to demands from the global electric vehicle battery market. Although they are also very active in battery production that is taking place overseas, it is likely that their domestic battery plants will remain as their main production bases for a while.
They are also expanding their circles of global suppliers. In 2021, LG Energy Solution will begin supplying its electric vehicle batteries to American and European automakers such as Tesla and GM. Samsung SDI plans to supply its batteries to BMW and Jaguar while SK Innovation is planning to supply its batteries to Volkswagen and Ford. All of them are targeting global automakers with their high-nickel batteries that have at least 80% nickel content. Increase in nickel content leads to higher range for electric vehicles.
It is expected that the companies will experience rapid growth in the United States market and the Chinese market in 2021. All of them have been focusing on mass-production of high-nickel batteries according to the countries’ plans to increase numbers of electric vehicles.
The Chinese Government has decided to extend its subsidies for electric vehicles that were expected to end this year. The three battery makers are also planning to target Chinese electric vehicles with their high-nickel batteries that provide much better ranges compared to LFP batteries made by Chinese companies. One official from the industry said that more automakers are seeking South Korean battery makers as their high-nickel batteries are receiving high praises and that the three South Korean battery makers will continue to target global automakers and increase their supplies of batteries by continuing to improve their core technologies.
Staff Reporter Kim, Jiwoong | jw0316@etnews.com