South Korean battery manufacturing companies are fiercely competing against each other in order to gain an upper hand in the global cylindrical battery market. Samsung SDI plans to start supplying its cylindrical batteries with nickel content of 91% that are currently used for power tools to global electric vehicle manufacturers. LG Energy Solution is set to become the first in the world to commercialize batteries in which 90% is made up of nickel in 2021 while SK Innovation is showing signs that it plans to enter the global cylindrical battery market as well.
According to the industry on December 20, Samsung SDI recently supplied its cylindrical batteries to a major power tool manufacturer from overseas. The batteries that the company supplied are the 21700 batteries with a dimension of 21mm by 70mm. The 21700 battery has up to 50% more capacity than the 18650 battery that has a dimension of 18mm by 65mm.
Samsung SDI applied its high-nickel cathode material technology to the batteries in order to increase their generating capacity. It improved generating capacity and performance of the batteries by applying “NCA (Nickel, Cobalt, Aluminum) cathode materials” with 90% nickel content.
The company’s main customers for its cylindrical batteries and power tool manufacturers. After entering the global power tool battery market, which had been dominated by a Japanese company, back in 2005, it has been supplying its cylindrical batteries to Bosch, TTi, Stanley Black & Decker, and Metabo that are the four major power tool manufacturers in the world. It has been the top company in the market for nine years in a row since 2013 by having about 50% of the market share.
The company also plans to focus on the global cylindrical battery market for electric vehicles as automobile manufacturers that had been mainly using medium to large pouch batteries have started to use cylindrical batteries beginning with Tesla.
It is looking to target electric vehicle manufacturers with its 21700 batteries with 91% nickel content. By verifying performance of the batteries through power tools, it will attempt to mass-produce electric vehicle batteries with 88% nickel content in 2021. It will then gradually raise nickel content to 90% and continue to target the global electric vehicle battery market.
Technologies related to cylindrical batteries for electric vehicles are becoming more advanced. Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution are starting to form a competition in the market. LG Energy Solution in particular plans to supply the world’s first NCMA (Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Aluminum) batteries with 90% nickel content to Tesla in 2021.
There is a great chance that SK Innovation will also join the mix. At “InterBattery 2020”, CEO Ji Dong-seop of the Battery Division at SK Innovation hinted that the company is looking into entering the global cylindrical battery market for electric vehicles. Once SK Innovation enters the market, competition between the three companies is expected to become even more intense.
SNE Research, an electric vehicle market research company, made a prediction that the market will grow at an average of about 20% every year from this year (76.4 GWh) to 2023 (150 GWh).
Staff Reporter Kim, Jiwoong | jw0316@etnews.com