LG Energy Solution said on the 21st that, based on its internal tally last month, patents registered in the global market surpassed 59,000 and patent applications topped 100,000, respectively. It is the first among battery corporations worldwide to exceed 100,000 global patent applications.
A battery industry official said, "The reason LG Energy Solution has filed the most patents in the world is because it has expanded research and development (R&D) investment every year despite headwinds such as the slump in the electric vehicle market."
LG Energy Solution's annual research and development (R&D) expense surpassed 1 trillion won for the first time in 2023. Last year, it invested a record 1.3277 trillion won in R&D.
LG Energy Solution has filed a variety of patents not only for process technologies such as safety-reinforced separator (SRS), double-layer coating for anodes (DLD), and carbon nanotube (CNT) pre-dispersion technology, but also across core materials technologies, including high-voltage electrolytes and silicon anode materials.
Recently, it has also been accelerating the securing of new technologies that will lead future markets, such as prismatic LMR to be used as a core platform technology in the commercialization of LMR (lithium manganese rich) batteries.
Lee Han-seon, head of the patent group at LG Energy Solution, said, "100,000 patents are not just a number but the fruit of relentless research and development and challenge," adding, "We will continue to speed up growth based on fundamental technologies and premium patents."