This photo taken on Jan. 10, 2024 (U.S. time), and provided by SK On shows the Korean battery maker’s Chief Commercial Officer Sung Min-suk (L) shaking hands with John Van Scoter, president and CEO of U.S. battery startup Solid Power, after signing a technology transfer agreement at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the United States. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — SK On, the battery unit of chip-to-construction conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has partnered with U.S. battery startup Solid Power to jointly develop solid-state batteries.
SK On signed an agreement with Solid Power for solid-state battery technology transfers from the U.S. company during this year’s Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, the company said in a statement.
The deal requires Solid Power to transfer technologies involving solid-state battery cell design and its manufacturing to SK On. Once developed, the two companies will cooperate in commercializing solid-state batteries, it said.
“This arrangement with SK On provides the framework for closer collaboration with one of the industry’s leading battery manufacturers and increases our presence in one of the world’s most strategically important battery markets,” Solid Power President and CEO John Van Scoter said in the statement.
SK On said it will build a “battery pilot line” at its battery research and development center in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, by 2025 for test production ahead of mass commercial manufacturing.
SK On currently produces lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly used in electric vehicles but are prone to fires.
Solid-state batteries are widely believed to be essential for mass commercialization of battery-powered EVs as they are more stable and potentially more powerful.
(Yonhap)
