Japan-Canada battery joint venture, focusing on all-solid-state products Korea ‘mid- to low-cost replacement’

Japan-Canada battery joint venture, focusing on all-solid-state products Korea ‘mid- to low-cost replacement’

Japan entered Canada with low-cost iron phosphate LEP batteries, and Korea announced its development of replacement products as a latecomer to mid- to low-priced batteries.
At the 'Korea Advanced Battery Conference (KABC) 2023' hosted by energy market research company SNE Research on the 14th, the three domestic battery companies announced that they plan to respond to China's low-priced all-solid-state LFP batteries with mid-nickel products with a reduced proportion of nickel.
Yomiuri reported on the 14th that the Japanese and Canadian governments will sign a memorandum of understanding on the 21st to cooperate in the field of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Japan Times reported on the 14th that Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said, "Japan will possess strong technology in the all-solid-state battery field to increase competitiveness."
Yomiuri announced that Minister of Industry Nishimura and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry will sign a memorandum of understanding during a visit to Canada, and will be accompanied by delegations from companies involved in resource development and battery production, such as Mitsubishi and Panasonic Energy.
The Japan Times announced that Toyota plans to develop an all-solid-state battery and commercialize it in 2027. Honda expects to use solid-state batteries in vehicle models starting in late 2024.
Nissan announced plans to launch an electric vehicle equipped with its own all-solid-state battery starting in April 2028.
Domestic battery companies focused on so-called high-nickel products that increased energy density by increasing the proportion of nickel in the cathode material, but these batteries began to lose out in international competition due to their high price and low stability.
Seung-don Choi, head of LG Energy Solutions' Automotive Battery Development Center, said at a conference on the 14th, "Price and safety are emerging as key factors in the future electric vehicle market," and added, "Reflecting this trend, high-voltage mid-nickel NCM lowered the proportion of nickel and cobalt and increased voltage. “We are focusing on (nickel cobalt manganese) batteries,” he said.
LG Energy Solution's mid- to low-priced mid-nickel NCM is expected to have a 30-40% reduction in heat generation and be priced 8-10% cheaper than existing high-nickel products.
Ko Joo-young, head of the strategic marketing team at Samsung SDI's mid- to large-sized battery division, said on the day, "It is already too late to enter the LFP market, so we cannot be competitive even if we start now. We will respond to China's LFP batteries with NMX and LMFP batteries, which Samsung SDI can do well." “It was stated.
Hwang Jae-yeon, in charge of technology development at SK On, said on the day, "We plan to target the mid- to low-priced market with less cobalt or cobalt-free batteries with reduced or eliminated cobalt content. We are also developing LFP batteries." He added, "We are launching an all-solid-state battery pilot line in Daedeok Research Complex. is building. “It is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year,” he said.
Samsung SDI's mid- to low-priced products are NMX (nickel manganese) and LMFP (lithium manganese iron phosphate) batteries with cobalt removed from the anode material.
In the battery industry, Japan ranked first in the world in the liquid lithium-ion battery market in the early 2010s, but has now been overtaken by Korea and China. 
SNE Research announced on this day that in the first half of this year, the market share of Chinese battery companies in the global market excluding China was 32.9%, and the market share of batteries directly produced by Chinese automobile companies such as BYD was 11.8%.
In the global electric vehicle battery market excluding China, the gap between the world's No. 1 LG Energy Solution (28.7%) and China's CATL (27.2%) has narrowed to 1.5 percentage points, and including China, CATL's share in the global electric vehicle battery market has narrowed to 1.5%. 's market share was 36.8%, surpassing the three domestic battery companies (23.8%).
All-solid-state batteries can shorten the charging time by one-third compared to current liquid lithium-ion batteries, and can travel more than twice the distance on a single charge. Market research firm Fuji Keizai said that all-solid-state batteries are The global market size was revealed to be approximately 35 trillion won in 2040.
All-solid-state batteries, unlike the lithium-ion batteries that Korea focuses on, use solid electrolyte instead of liquid, and have the advantages of high output, convenient miniaturization, long-distance operation, and shortened charging time. However, the disadvantages are relatively short lifespan and low-cost mass production technology. Japanese car companies such as Toyota seem to have solved this problem.
Korea separated electric vehicles and batteries from manufacturing from the beginning, and has a lithium-ion battery system as its main product, which is advantageous for U.S. subsidies and rising stocks. It uses liquid as an electrolyte, which is exposed to the risk of fire damage in case of impact, and all-solid batteries use solids. is likely to dominate the next-generation battery market by dramatically increasing the number of components and reducing weight and volume.
Quantumscape, an American battery startup backed by Bill Gates and Volkswagen, signed solid-state battery contracts with six electric vehicle manufacturers, including Volkswagen, Reuters reported on June 12.
German Mercedes-Benz, American automaker Stellantis, and Total Energy signed a contract to develop all-solid-state batteries with ProLogium Technology, a Taiwan-based battery manufacturer.
<10-minute charging with Gigacast, an all-solid-state battery for Japanese electric vehicles manufactured by the same automobile company, see June 13, 2023>