SK On to vie against Chinese rivals with pouch cell-type LFP battery

[Source: SK Innovation Co.]

South Korea’s battery maker SK On will go with pouch cells to venture into the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery market currently led by Chinese manufacturers that have made prismatic and cylindrical cells standards for LFP electric vehicle batteries.

The battery spinoff from SK Innovation has got closer to commercial production of a pouch-type LFP battery for electric vehicles with all development and design phases completed, according to internal sources on Thursday.

Progress has been remarkably fast in the company’s engineering sector while the nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery maker last month said it is in the phase of examining its advance into LFP batteries for low-cost standard range models that are increasingly drawing attention from global EV brands such as Tesla.

SK On is now looking through B sample prototyping to test the waters with global EV makers as early as next year. The B sample is the most complete as possible fresh out of a pilot plant or lab.

SK On is reportedly leveraging its technological capabilities built through its NCM battery development to boost range limits of LFP batteries. A pouch architecture is another advantage to range extension as the cell is lighter, thinner and design flexible as compared to common hard case cells.

The battery industry is focusing on lightweight and high energy density cell fabrication to help increase the driving range of EVs. SK On will gain an edge against established LFP competitors by applying its own pack and system design plus unique electrode and process technologies on top of weight loss, said an SK On official.

LFP batteries, now dominated by China’s CATL and BYD, come in a prismatic form, and these manufacturers use cell-to-pack technology to improve energy density.

Battery packs installed in EVs are expanded in units of cells, modules, and packs, but CTP increases energy density by skipping modules to increase cells. China's CATL and BYD have already launched LFP batteries based on CTP technology. CTP is known to increase energy density by about 20 percent or more.

In a separate announcement on Thursday, SK On signed an agreement with the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) to develop technologies and standards that maximize the safety of lithium-ion batteries.

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