Rivian, an American electric vehicle manufacturer, is pushing ahead with its own battery manufacturing. The internalization of batteries in electric vehicle companies is becoming a trend.
Rivian has received investments from Amazon and Ford, and is under the spotlight as a rival company to Tesla. Samsung SDI is currently supplying batteries to Rivian.
According to the industry on the 29th, Rivian started to purchase battery manufacturing equipment. Several battery equipment companies participated in the bidding.
The equipment Rivian intends to purchase is a prismatic battery, and pursues a pilot production scale equipment.
A well-informed high-ranking industry official said, "Rivian is in the process of choosing a bidder for pilot line equipment.A decision will be made as early as next month.”
Rivian is about to launch its first electric vehicles this year. The electric pickup truck model 'R1T' is scheduled to be sold in September, and the sports utility vehicle (SUV) 'R1S' in late autumn.
These electric vehicles are equipped with Samsung SDI batteries.Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe announced in April that “Samsung SDI has been able to respond to the production of electric vehicles in a timely manner by supplying electric vehicle batteries.”
It is understood that Rivian is preparing for mass production of its own batteries apart from cooperation with Samsung SDI. The will to internalize the prismatic battery is evident.
Cylindrical batteries are similar in shape to AA or AAA batteries. A rectangular-shaped has the shape of a flat metal can. The cylindrical shape is advantageous for mass production, and the rectangular shape has the advantage for durability. Volkswagen announced that it would increase the proportion of prismatic batteries, and this sparked the interest in prismatic batteries.
Almost all automakers, including electric vehicles, are pushing for internalization of batteries. Many automakers are heavily investing in securing the stability of the batteries and differentiating the performance of electric vehicles, which are the main factors for the growth of the electric vehicle market. Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors (GM) and Volvo have announced that they will invest trillions of dollars in securing their own batteries.
Automobile manufacturers are currently forming strategic partnerships with secondary battery manufacturers in order to meet battery supply and demand. However, many companies are planning on internalizing the battery production in order to reduce dependence on core equipment, and strengthen their competitiveness. In the same context, Rivian is preparing to manufacture batteries as well.
Observers in the market expect that Samsung SDI will set up an electric vehicle battery plant in the United States to cooperate with Rivian. It is interesting to see how Rivian's strategic move to internalize batteries will affect cooperation with Samsung SDI.
By Staff Reporter Gunil Yun (benyun@etnews.com)