InterBattery trade show packed with visitors
The recent slowdown in the global electric vehicle (EV) market could not dampen the enthusiasm for the latest in battery technology trends, which were on display at the InterBattery 2024 trade show in Seoul, Wednesday.
Exhibition booths at Korea’s largest battery technology fair were crowded with visitors on the first day of the three-day event with industry officials, students and journalists, all seeking to learn more about the strategies of LG Energy Solution (LGES), Samsung SDI, SK On and POSCO Holdings, as well as more than 500 other companies participating in the event.
The event has attracted all manner of people, such as Tanzanian envoys keen to export battery materials to Korea and the governor of the U.S. state of Michigan, who wants to attract investments from Korean firms.
Although CATL, a battery manufacturing company, and other Chinese battery makers did not participate in the annual event again this year, many Chinese visitors were in attendance. Just two days before the event’s opening, battery industry associations in Korea, the U.S., Japan and Europe launched a forum to counter the expansion of Chinese battery manufacturers.
The CEOs of Korea’s top three EV battery makers also attended the opening ceremony.
Those companies had not sent their CEOs to the previous year’s event, which was held amid a bullish market. Their return this year is interpreted as a show of their desire to overcome the current downturn
by attracting the public’s attention regarding their latest technological offerings.
LGES CEO Kim Dong-myung, who leads the Korea Battery Industry Association, said that the company is determined to develop an all-solid-state battery, even if it takes some time.
The battery manufacturing unit of LG Group, which displayed the Isuzu electric truck, equipped with its products, unveiled its pouchtype cell-to-pack technology, which enhances energy density and reduces weight and costs by assembling cells directly into battery packs.
Samsung SDI, which drew attention with Volvo’s electric truck and a
BMW sedan, both equipped with its products, elaborated on its plan to develop an all-solid-state battery by 2027.
“Everything is going well,” Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho said to a question about the company’s talks with U.S. carmakers about sharing tax incentives for their joint ventures.
“We will increase investments this year, although we cannot disclose the size,” he added.
SK On CEO Lee Seok-hee said that the company seeks the mass production of its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery by 2026, adding that all employees are trying their best to boost profit this year.
The company introduced
advanced fast-charging solutions to visitors at the trade show, displaying vehicles made by its Korean partners — Hyundai Motor and Kia.
Kim Jun-hyung, a former POSCO Future M CEO who is now directing POSCO Group’s overall strategies on battery materials, dismissed concerns over a possible reduction in the company’s investments in the battery sector after the appointment of a new chairman, who emphasized the importance of the steelmaking business.
“Chairman nominee Chang In-hwa told me that the company does not need to slow down its investments in the rechargeable battery industry,” Kim said.