Implementation of mass production after establishing a pilot production this year
High expectations for the combination of LFP and prismatic battery pack with energy density improvement
SK On makes prismatic battery packs for electric vehicles. Unlike its competitors such as LG Energy Solution (cylindrical/pouch), Samsung SDI (cylindrical/prismatic), and Panasonic (cylindrical/prismatic), SK On only produced pouchbattery packs. This is a strategic respond to the recent global auto industry trend of adopting prismatic battery packs like Volkswagen Group is doing.
According to the industry on the 29th, SK On has completed a survey on prismatic pre- and post-process equipment estimates and line design for domestic battery process equipment manufacturers.SK On plans to eventuate its commercialization, such as mass production, after establishing a prismatic pilot production this year.
SK On is one of the only three domestic battery companies to announce development of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) following the development of ternary system (NCM) as the only cathode material for electric vehicle batteries. It is expecting a a synergy effect with the LFP and the prismatic lineup.
The LFP prismatic battery cells are advantageous to implement a new pack design technologies similar to 'Cell To Pack (CTP)' or 'Cell to Chassis (CTC)’. The LFP prismatic battery cells are cheaper to produce compared to cathode NCM, and it will be able to combat its biggest drawback of low energy density by applying CTP or CTC design.
The combination of LFP and prismatic batteries is considered as an alternative solution to reduce the price of electric vehicles since the electric are getting more expensive than internal combustion engine vehicles due to increasing cost of raw materials of nickel and cobalt, which are key materials for ternary batteries. China's CATL, which has the largest market share in the global battery market, has secured a number of auto manufacturers with its LFP-based prismatic lineup.
The trend for auto manufacturers such as Tesla, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motors, and Stellantis, is choosing cheaper option of LFP-based CTP/CTC. These companies mainly apply LFP batteries to budget friendly electric vehicle models and ternary (NCM/NCA) batteries to higher-end models.
An official from SK On said, "SK On is a global company that specializes in producing pouch battery packs. We keep all possibilities open, and conduct research on various products such as prismatic battery packs; however, the commercialization of prismatic battery packsis yet to be decided.” he said.
By Staff Reporter Taejoon Park and Jiwoong Kim (gaius@etnews.com),(jw0316@etnews.com)