Samsung, LG go in different directions for all solid batteries

South Korean household names Samsung and LG are in a new race to win the market for solid-state batteries, next-generation batteries promising enhanced safety and efficiency.

According to the battery industry, Samsung SDI Co., Korea’s No. 3 battery maker, is seeking to mass-produce prismatic cell-type solid-state batteries by 2027 although it is currently testing pouch-type solid battery samples.

This is contrary to the strategy of its bigger rival LG Energy Solution Ltd., which is striving to commercialize pouch-type solid-state batteries.

The solid-state battery is considered a promising solution to address the limitations of traditional lithium-ion batteries such as a fire risk and limited range, and many battery manufacturers are rushing to produce them to revolutionize industries from electric vehicles to renewable energy systems.

It uses solid materials for the electrolyte, which transports the positive lithium ions between the cathode and anode in a battery, while current batteries use the liquid electrolyte. Solid-state batteries are expected to hold more energy than liquid electrolyte batteries.

PRISMATIC CELLS FOR SAMSUNG SDI

Samsung SDI expects the prismatic solid-state battery cell to maximize solid-state battery technology benefits, such as safety, as the prismatic cell is covered by aluminum, which is highly resistant to external shock.

It is important to keep the fire risk caused by external shocks in the solid-state battery at nearly zero as all solid batteries can be used in EVs, ships, drones and urban air mobility vehicles.

“Enhancing the safety of exterior materials is critical in solid-state batteries,” Samsung SDI’s Executive Vice President Go Joo-young said during the first SNE Battery Day held in Seoul, Korea on Wednesday.

Pouch cells are vulnerable to fire because their exterior material is film, added Go.

The prismatic cell is also a mainstream battery form factor, making up more than 50% of the entire EV lithium-ion battery market.

This is another reason Samsung SDI is betting big on the prismatic solid-state battery.

POUCH CELLS FOR HIGHER ENERGY EFFICIENCY

However, LG Energy Solution expects pouch-type solid-state batteries to be better at achieving higher energy efficiency than existing liquid electrolyte batteries because it is easier to increase pressure inside the pouch cell to further facilitate ion transfer. 

Heightening pressure in the prismatic cell is more complicated and costs more.

This means that the pouch solid-state battery cell is more energy efficient and more marketable, according to LG Energy Solution. 

Korea’s largest battery maker also believes the pouch cell is safe considering that a liquid electrolyte leak from external shock can cause a lithium-ion battery fire.

LG Energy Solution aims to mass-produce solid-state batteries in 2030.

Write to Sang-Hoon Sung at uphoon@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.