Hit by slowing electric-vehicle demand and an annual loss last year, Samsung SDI declared a performance turnaround for the second half of this year.
Choi Joo-sun, president and CEO of Samsung SDI, said at the 56th annual general meeting of shareholders held at the Elliena Hotel in Gangnam District, Seoul, on Mar. 18, "With the expansion of downstream industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), growth in the global battery market will accelerate starting this year," adding, "We will make this year the first year of a performance turnaround."
Choi said that as a mid- to long-term growth strategy, the company will prepare lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and mid-nickel products and develop ultra-high-power, ultra-light small batteries. He then introduced strengthening the semiconductor packaging and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials businesses as key strategies.
Choi said, "Based on differentiated technological capabilities, we will expand our customer portfolio while diversifying order sources beyond electric vehicles and ESS to include robots, securing momentum for mid- to long-term growth." On the timing of an EV demand recovery, he said, "It will come within the next two to three years."
On all-solid-state batteries, he said the company is targeting mass production next year and is pursuing supply for humanoids and electric vehicles. Regarding sodium batteries, he said the company is first reviewing application for uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and for lithium metal batteries, it is preemptively securing technological capabilities.
Choi also stressed a "patent management" drive to maintain technology leadership. He said, "We will continuously identify and strengthen patents for core battery technologies such as prismatic and all-solid-state to build an industry-leading patent portfolio," adding, "Since taking office, what I have felt on the ground is a harsh survival game, and the conclusion for us to win this fierce fight is ultimately 'technology.'"
At the shareholders meeting, all six agenda items, including approval of the financial statements, partial amendments to the articles of incorporation, appointment of directors, and approval of the cap on directors' compensation, were passed as originally proposed. Among them, the item on partial amendments to the articles of incorporation included revising certain provisions to proactively reflect the intent of the recent amendments to the Commercial Act.