Category: LG Chem

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LG Chem plans to build electric car battery factory in Poland – source

South Korea's LG Chem plans to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Poland to meet rising demand from European automakers, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

"The plant will be completed in about one-and-a-half years," said the source, who did not want to be named as he was not authorized to talk to the media. He did not provide any details on the size of the investment.

The facilities, to be located in the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw, will ultimately have a production capacity of 229,000 EV batteries a year, making it LG Chem's second-biggest EV battery factory after China, the source said.

The company also builds EV batteries in South Korea and the United States.

LG Chem - the battery supplier for General Motors' upcoming electric car Bolt - counts a total of 25 automakers globally, including Renault, Volkswagen, Audi and Volvo in Europe, as its customers.

A spokesman for LG Chem said it was considering adding car battery production facilities, but nothing had been decided.

Automakers around the world are expected to roll out a slew of electric vehicles to meet tougher emissions and fuel economy regulations, although there are concerns that current low oil prices will dent demand for fuel-efficient cars.

LG Chem's rival Samsung SDI, which has BMW as one of its customers, is also considering building an EV battery factory in Europe, a Samsung SDI spokesman said.

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LG & Samsung to develop 500km+ battery for Audi Q6 e-tron

German carmaker Audi said it will develop batteries for electrically powered Q6 e-tron sport utility vehicles (SUVs) that can run more than 500 kilometers per charge, in partnerships with South Korea's LG Chem Ltd and Samsung SDI Co Ltd.

The South Korean companies will supply the batteries from plants in Europe, Audi said in a statement on Thursday.

Audi, Samsung SDI and LG Chem declined to give financial terms of the respective partnerships.

LG Chem recently entered into a patent license agreement with 3M to expand the use of nickel, cobalt, manganese (NCM) in lithium ion batteries. In May LG Chem also announced its intention to be a supplier of larger batteries between 80 and 120 kWh to car manufacturers targeting a range of 300-500 km.

LG Chem's automotive customers include General Motors, Renault SA, and Daimler AG, while Samsung SDI supplies electric vehicle batteries to BMW and Volkswagen

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LG signs battery deals with two Chinese Bus Manufacturers

LG Chem has agreed with Chinese automakers Nanjing Golden Dragon Bus and Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle to supply lithium ion-based batteries for their electric vehicles (EVs), the Korean company said Sunday.

"LG Chem has signed battery supplement deals with Nanjing Golden Dragon Bus and Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle," LG said in a statement. "The contract calls for LG to provide batteries for their upcoming large- and small-sized electric city buses."

Company spokesman Woo Byeong-min declined to reveal the financial details.

Since 2010, LG Chem, the world's largest battery manufacturer, has continued signing deals with China's leading car producers because the Korean company believes the Chinese EV market has huge potential.

Nanjing Golden Dragon Bus, established in 2000, is one of the top-tier producers of electric buses in China, with an annual capacity of about 8,000 units. Dongfeng Commercial is an affiliate.

"The latest agreement will significantly help us expand our portfolio to buses from sedans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in China, the world's biggest EV market," Woo said.

He said demand for electric buses was increasing in major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, thanks to more subsidies from the central government to cut carbon emissions.

The statement said LG Chem was looking to electric buses to keep its growth momentum.

"For example, an EV sedan uses a battery with between 10 and 30 kilowatt per hour (KWh) storage capacity," Woo said.

"However, an electric bus uses a 60-200 KWh battery. The electric bus market is therefore more profitable."

LG Chem said its battery factory in the southern Chinese city of Nanjing would begin operating next year, and would be the frontrunner among its main rivals in China.

The LG Chem statement quoted President Kwon Young-soo as saying, "The Chinese EV market will boom after 2016. LG Chem is ideally positioned to lead the market, given the number of clients we have secured."

KDB Securities, a local brokerage, expects demand for EVs in China to reach 350,000 by 2016 from an estimated 200,000 this year, with leading car manufacturers introducing affordable models.

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LG Chem to offer 80 to 120 kWh batteries

South Koran chemical engineering company LG Chem have announced its intention to be a supplier of larger batteries to car manufacturers who are interested in longer range EVs.

LG Chem is targeting a 300-500 km range battery pack. The company contends that currently most EVs with their 100-150 km range have a limited appeal and that hinders the potential for market growth. Currently, only the Tesla Model S possesses a truly long-range battery pack.

To that end, LG Chem says it would begin to offer large capacity lithium-ion batteries that hold between 80 and 120 kWh.

LG Chem is already a supplier for the Chevrolet Volt. General Motors announced this past January that the Bolt, a new pure EV that will go into production in 2016, will have a 320 km range.

Such long-range EVs have the potential to dramatically shake up the electric-car landscape and appeal to a larger audience.

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LG Chem to supply batteries for Daimler’s Smart EVs

Daimler has picked South Korea's LG Chem to be the sole battery supplier for the automaker's new range of Smart electric vehicles, which will be launched in 2016.

LG Chem did not disclose the value or volume of the deal, but said EVs account for a small portion of about 100,000 Smart mini cars sold a year currently.

LG Chem, which is also an EV battery supplier for General Motors and Renault, said it will provide Smart EV battery cells, which will be made into packs by Daimler's wholly owned subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive.

Daimler is LG Chem's 13th automaker client for EV battery packs.

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Automakers race to double the driving range of affordable electric cars

Global automakers are readying a new generation of mass-market electric cars with more than double the driving range of today’s Nissan Leaf, betting that technical breakthroughs by big battery suppliers such as LG Chem Ltd will jump-start demand and pull them abreast of Tesla Motors Inc.

At least four major automakers — General Motors, Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen — plan to race Tesla to be first to field affordable electric vehicles that will travel up to 320 km (200 miles) between charges.

That is more than twice as far as current lower-priced models such as the Nissan Leaf, which starts at $29,010. The new generation of electric cars is expected to be on the market within two to three years.

To get a Tesla Model S that delivers 265 miles (427 km) on a charge requires buying a version that starts at $81,000 before tax incentives. Most electric cars offered at more affordable prices can travel only about 75 to 85 miles (121 to 137 km) on a charge – less in cold weather or when drivers have the air conditioning on.

Automakers need to pump up electric vehicle demand significantly by 2018. This is when California and eight other states will begin to require the companies to meet much higher sales targets for so-called zero emission vehicles — in other words, electric cars — and federal rules on reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gases become much stricter.

BATTERY BREAKTHROUGHS

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said last week that “200 miles is the minimum threshold” to alleviate consumer concerns over EV range. There is “a sweet spot around 250-350 miles that’s really ideal,” he said.

Musk has promised a more affordable Tesla, the Model 3, which will sell for around $35,000 and provide a driving range of 200 miles or more. That car is slated to begin production in mid-to-late 2017.

However, GM says it plans to field a 200-mile electric car, the Chevrolet Bolt, by late 2016.

The Bolt will use an advanced lithium-ion battery pack developed by Korea’s LG Chem, which also supplies batteries for the Chevrolet Volt hybrid. The newer batteries are said to have much higher energy density and provide much longer range between charges, thanks to breakthroughs in battery materials, design and chemistry, according to a source familiar with LG Chem’s technology.

"Several factors are at play that are landing at this 200-mile range" for a vehicle priced between $30,000 and $35,000, LG Chem Chief Executive Prabhakar Patil said in an interview. "We’ve been talking to several OEMs (automakers) regarding where our battery technology is and where it’s going."

LG Chem also supplies standard lithium-ion batteries to the Ford Focus Electric and may supply the longer-range batteries to a new compact EV that Ford is tentatively planning to introduce in late 2018 or early 2019, according to three suppliers familiar with the program.

Compared with the 2015 Focus Electric, which has a range between charges of 76 miles, the new compact electric model would have a range of at least 200 miles, the suppliers said.

Nissan and VW both have battery supply deals with LG Chem, and both are working on longer-range EVs for 2018 and beyond.

Nissan is planning to introduce a successor to the Leaf in early 2018, according to a source familiar with the program, and that model is expected to offer significantly greater range than the current Leaf, the best-selling electric car in the United States, which can go 84 miles (135 km) between charges.

The 2015 Leaf uses batteries made by a joint venture between Nissan and supplier NEC. It is not clear if the future model will shift to LG Chem, although Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has identified LG Chem as a potential battery supplier.

VW plans to expand its current range of electrified vehicles, including a successor to the battery-powered e-Golf in 2018 with much longer range, according to two sources familiar with the program. The current e-Golf uses batteries made by Panasonic and has a range between charges of 83 miles.

Volkswagen plans to decide in the first half of this year whether new battery technology under development at U.S. startup QuantumScape Corp, which may expand an electric vehicle’s driving distance between recharges to as much as 700 kilometers (430 miles), is ready for use in its electric cars.

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Daimler to spend 100 million euros to expand German battery output

Daimler will spend about 100 million euros (US$125 million) in coming years to increase production of lithium-ion battery packs in eastern Germany.

The German automaker said on Monday it will expand capacity at Deutsche ACCUmotive, its battery-making division in Saxony as it expects "high and steadily-growing demand" for electric-car batteries.

The unit supplies batteries for the luxury Mercedes division's hybrid S-Class, E-Class and C-Class models, Daimler said.

Steps to increase battery output tie in with Daimler's plans announced last month to phase out production of lithium-ion battery cells at its second Saxony-based Li-Tec division by the end of 2015.

Daimler aims to employ the bulk of Li-Tec's 250 workers at Deutsche ACCUmotive.

The Stuttgart-based manufacturer in future plans to buy battery cells from LG Chem.

Asian makers of battery cells such as Samsung, Panasonic and LG Chem are producing the cells at lower costs, reaping benefits from scale effects as they're also serving non-automotive industries, analysts said.

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Korean Companies Taking Lead in EV Battery Market

An increasing number of carmakers such as Nissan and Daimler are opting for Korean battery manufacturers’ products instead of doing the lithium-ion secondary battery business on their own. The trend is expected to be a boon for LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation in the fledgling eco-friendly car battery market.

The only German factory that produces battery cells for electric cars is closing. Within little more than one year, the company Li-Tec in Saxon Kamenz, will cease manufacture of battery cells. The company is a subsidiary of the Daimler Group.

The Li-Tec factory will close December 2015 but will be retained as a research location; the majority of the 280 employees will be transferred to the Deutsche Accumotive—also a wholly owned Daimler subsidiary—which manufactures battery packs. Accumotive is currently expanding its production capacity to build systems for the next generation of the electric smart among others. Cells are slated to come from LG Chem.

“Nissan has purchased EV batteries from AESC since 2009, but will diversify the supply sources to LG Chem and many more,” Renault Nissan Alliance Chairman Carlos Ghosn said in September. It is said that AESC’s products are approximately 15 percent more expensive than those of LG Chem.

These decisions come about because it is difficult for a company to realize the economy of scale and achieve price competitiveness on its own in the eco-friendly vehicle market. Battery manufacturers that have produced small batteries for use in smartphones and the like have more advanced technological strength, too. It is in this context that Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, and BMW have procured battery cells from external sources from the get go.

At present, LG Chem’s customers include not only Hyundai and Kia but also about 20 automakers such as GM and Ford. Samsung SDI has done business with about 10, including BMW, as well. SK Innovation, which started relatively late, has supplied batteries for Kia Motors’ Soul EV, and set up a joint venture in China with the Beijing Automotive Group. The EV battery market is estimated to grow to US$11.9 billion by 2018.

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Germany exits EV Battery Cell Manufacture Business

The only German factory that produces battery cells for electric cars is closed. Little more than one year, the company Li-Tec in Saxon Kamenz will manufacture battery cells. The company is a subsidiary of the Daimler Group.

"Our cells are very good, but at current production figures too expensive", the Daimler-manager Harald Kröger justified the closure in an interview with SPIEGEL. Last week, Daimler had 250 employees internally announced the end of the factory, more than half should be able to remain in the group. Only mass production makes such factories profitable. Therefore, it was part of the Daimler-calculus that other auto companies participate and would leave produce in Kamenz cells for their e-Mobile. But the partners did not materialize.

Now the company changes its strategy. "We have realised that a car manufacturer does not have to produce the cells themselves," says Kroeger.

Li-Tec will be retained as a research location; the majority of the 280 employees will be transferred to the Deutsche Accumotive—also a wholly owned Daimler subsidiary—which manufactures battery packs. Accumotive is currently expanding its production capacity to build systems for the next generation of the electric smart among others. Cells are slated to come from LG Chem.