All three K-battery companies gathered at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Namyang Research Center. This is to collaborate between automobile manufacturers and battery suppliers to enhance electric vehicle safety technology. It is unprecedented in the world for a country's automobile manufacturers and battery companies to join forces in securing battery technology.
On the 22nd, Hyundai Motor, Kia, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On (hereafter referred to as the three battery companies) announced the results of their collaboration over the past year for the development of electric vehicle battery safety enhancement technology at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Namyang Research Center in Namyang-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, and signed a memorandum of understanding to further advance future cooperation.
The event was attended by Yang Heewon, president of Hyundai Motor and Kia's R&D division, Kim Dong-myung, president of LG Energy Solution, Choi Joo-sun, president of Samsung SDI, Lee Seok-hee, president of SK On, and officials from government agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The purpose is clear. Korean companies leading global electric vehicle technology are uniting to secure world-class battery safety technology. There was also a consensus among the corporate executives that it could contribute to strengthening national competitiveness.
Last August, Hyundai Motor and Kia proposed to form a 'Battery Safety Assurance Task Force' (TFT) by gathering personnel from all sectors related to research and development, production processes, quality, and patents, and the three battery companies responded to this proposal, conducting close collaboration over the past year.
As part of the collaboration, Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the three battery companies selected five collaborative tasks to strengthen battery quality and safety. The collaborative tasks include safety patents, a digital battery passport, design quality, manufacturing quality, and firefighting technology. Specifically, they are divided into areas for joint collaboration with the three battery companies and areas for cooperation utilizing each company's specialized technology.
At the event, Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the three battery companies shared the results of their collaboration on the five tasks over the past year and announced their future cooperation plans.
The safety patent task aims to share the safety patent technologies developed by Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the three battery companies. Each company develops patent technologies for materials, designs, and component structures to ensure safety when battery cells degrade abnormally and partially shares these with each other. The TFT has derived shared patents, such as short-circuit prevention technologies, over the past year and plans to continue collaboration by sharing new patent lists.
The digital battery passport is a task to respond to the European Union's initiative to digitalize all lifecycle information from the production to disposal and recycling of batteries. Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the three battery companies are building a new battery quality tracking system that meets international standards and additionally incorporates safety specialization items.
The design quality task aims to enhance battery safety by applying robust designs to battery cells to validate the causes of battery fires in advance. Improvements are identified in the design methods of the factors that make up the battery cells, and standard verification criteria and management methods are enhanced and reflected in the design process.
Manufacturing quality is a task to introduce new technologies into the battery manufacturing process to enhance the safety and quality of mass-produced cells. Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the three battery companies will work together to stabilize production and reduce defect rates by inspecting the cell manufacturing process. In the future, they plan to systematically manage manufacturing data and utilize AI to enhance analysis quality, building an intelligent manufacturing management system.
Firefighting technology task aims to provide data on electric vehicle battery cells to the National Fire Agency for foundational research purposes and to validate the effectiveness of technology for application in actual fire situations. Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the three battery companies filed patents for collaboratively researched technologies such as battery cell fire detection systems and fire suppression technologies through the TFT and revised guidelines for responding to electric vehicle fire occurrences in collaboration with the National Fire Agency. They plan to continue to cooperate to enhance firefighting technologies in the future.
On this day, Hyundai Motor, Kia, and the three battery companies signed a memorandum of understanding titled 'Hyundai Motor and Kia - Three Battery Companies, Agreement for Enhancing Battery Safety' to ensure that technical development cooperation centered on the five key tasks will continue even after the conclusion of the TFT, which has been in operation for the past year. Each company intends to enhance cooperation by further developing safety new technologies and sharing patent intellectual property rights. They also plan to continue efforts to establish electric vehicle battery safety standards by enhancing thermal runaway prevention technologies and firefighting technologies.
Yang Heewon, president of Hyundai Motor and Kia's R&D division, stated, "This collaboration was possible because of the commitment of the management of Hyundai Motor and Kia as well as battery companies, the dedication and expertise of the researchers, and the support of government agencies," and added, "We will continue to maintain close cooperation with battery companies to create safer and more reliable electric vehicles."
Kim Dong-myung, president of LG Energy Solution, remarked, "The global electric vehicle battery market is a 'national competition,' and our path to survival is cooperation beyond competition," adding, "The government and corporations must work as one team, and LG Energy Solution will race to the finish line for Korea's future competitiveness."
Choi Joo-sun, president of Samsung SDI, commented, "This collaboration is not merely about improving technology; it is a progression that redefines the industrial safety standards and technological direction, leading to responsible changes throughout the ecosystem," and stated, "Based on this experience, Samsung SDI will develop safer and more sustainable battery technologies to contribute to industrial advancement."
Lee Seok-hee, president of SK On, emphasized, "It is significant that the three K-battery companies have joined forces with Hyundai Motor and Kia for electric vehicle battery safety," and added, "I expect that through this collaboration, the safety quality of batteries will take a leap forward, and SK On will do its utmost to develop batteries that customers can trust."
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