South Korea’s Battery Industry Speeding up the Process of Transitioning to the “Cobalt Zero” Era

South Korea’s battery industry is speeding up the “cobalt-less” transition process as it looks to gradually decrease cobalt content before completely transitioning to the “cobalt zero” era when cobalt, which can be quite costly, will not be used at all. SK Innovation, LG Chem, and Samsung SDI are preparing to introduce NCM (Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese), NCMA (Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Aluminum), and NCA (Nickel, Cobalt, Aluminum) batteries respectively next year.

<President Kim Jun is examining an electric vehicle battery by visiting SK Group’s booth that was set up at CES.>

According to the industry, SK Innovation is currently working on developing NCM battery by the end of this year along with a South Korean cathode materials manufacturer EcoPro BM.
This battery will have 88% nickel content and it has 8% more nickel content than the existing NCM811 battery. Specifically, it will be made up of 88% nickel, 6% cobalt, and 6% manganese. By having a higher nickel content, the battery is able to increase range of electric vehicle to 500 to 600km and it is also able to save electric vehicle manufacturer’s manufacturing cost due to its low cobalt content.
SK Innovation’s new battery will be even more stable as the company added separator to EcoPro BM’s “concentration gradient cathode material” technology. This technology is used to increase nickel content and eliminate any chemical instability and maintain power generation capacity at the same time. As a result of the technology and addition of separator, the battery has increased lifespan and better performance and stability against heat.
SK Innovation has been reinforcing its battery lineup with NCM batteries at the center. Developing batteries with lesser cobalt content which can be costly and is causing a labor exploitation controversy is becoming a trend within the global markets.

<Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol of LG Chem is shaking hands with Chairman Mary Barra of GM after agreeing to establish a battery cell joint venture for electric vehicles.>

LG Chem is currently working on quaternary battery (NCMA) that adds aluminum to NCM battery. NCMA battery has only 5% cobalt content and up to 90% nickel content. LG Chem is planning to mass-produce the battery next year by developing new fundamental battery technologies and it will be the first one to supply the battery to GM’s electric pickup truck. It is working on final stage of the development of NCMA cathode material at its plants in Cheongju and Iksan. NCMA is able to provide a range of 600km for electric vehicle. The company will look to compete against others with its NCM and NCMA batteries.

<President Jun Young-hyun of Samsung SDI is examining key battery materials at the company’s electric vehicle battery plant in Hungary.>

Samsung SDI is planning to finish the development of NCA battery that has 88% nickel content next year. NCA battery uses aluminum instead of manganese while having low cobalt content in order to be more stable. This battery is seen as the safest battery for electric vehicles. Samsung SDI is planning to increase supplies of its NCA batteries with multinational automotive manufacturers such as BMW at the center.
“There are still many tasks before electric vehicle batteries do not use cobalt at all.” said Professor Seon Yang-guk of Hanyang University’s Division of Materials Science and Engineering. “As a result, battery manufacturers will look to gradually decrease cobalt content of their products.”
Staff Reporter Kim, Jiwoong | jw0316@etnews.com