[INTERVIEW] ‘Korea is hub of EV battery supply chain,’ Factorial Energy founder says

Alex Yu, founder of the solid-state battery manufacturing company, says Factorial Energy is looking to expand its connection to Korea as the firm opens its first plant outside the U.S. in Cheonan, South Chungcheong.

Alex Yu, founder and chief technology officer at Factorial Energy, takes a photo during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on the sidelines of InterBattery 2024 in Coex, southern Seoul on Thursday. [SARAH CHEA]

Making an EV battery requires lots of complex components, and with that said, Korea is one of the best locations to manufacture batteries, says Factorial Energy founder Alex Yu.

“Korea is the hub of the EV battery chain,” Yu said during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Thursday on the sidelines of the InterBattery 2024 exhibition in Coex, southern Seoul, where he delivered a speech on "next-generation batteries."

“From raw materials to cathode and anode, all of these necessary components are available in Korea,” Yu explained. “We have at least 10 Korean companies as suppliers, including Lotte Energy Materials.”

The Massachusetts-based battery maker recently finished the construction of its pilot plant for solid-state batteries in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, the company’s first plant outside of the United States.

“We’ve already invested more than $10 million in our Cheonan factory, and are actively considering more investment,” Yu said. “We’re also reviewing to build a R&D center in Korea.”

Capacity starts at 200 megawatt-hours with a goal of expanding to one gigawatt-hour, according to reports from multiple local media outlets, though Yu did not confirm the numbers. Around 70 employees currently work there.

Factorial Energy has been co-developing solid-state batteries with Hyundai Motor and Kia since 2021. Hyundai is also a stakeholder of the U.S. company, though the exact figure has not been disclosed. Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz are also big investors in the battery company.

“We can’t announce a specific timeline for the project with Hyundai, but Stellantis, our largest stakeholder, previously announced it will market solid-state batteries by 2026,” Yu said. “Hyundai’s timeline will be around that time frame as well.”

Solid-state batteries are touted as “dream batteries” for their high energy density and safety as they use solid electrolytes, unlike a lithium-ion battery that uses liquid electrolytes. It also has no risk of explosion or fire, but has yet to be commercialized by any battery company or auto manufacturer.

Factorial Energy has already sent its first solid-state battery samples to its clients.

“The feedback was very great — our batteries have high energy density and accommodate fast charging, which only takes 18 minutes from zero percent to 80 percent,” Yu said. “An announcement about the next round samples will be made very soon.”

“Factorial Energy achieved many ‘firsts’ in the industry as our batteries were the first to pass the U.S. government’s transportation safety test ad also the first to send samples to automakers.”

Solid-state batteries were the highlight of this year’s InterBattery 2024 exhibition. Samsung SDI unveiled its road map for the production of solid-state batteries in a first for Korean companies.

Samsung SDI aims to come up with samples in three phases by 2026 in order to start mass production in 2027. It has sent samples of solid-state batteries to three clients so far.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]