SK On, a pouch-type battery specialist, announced that it will unveil a prismatic battery mock-up for the first time at ‘InterBattery 15’ held at COEX in Seoul from the 17th to the 2023th. The strategy is to expand global competitiveness by responding to the diverse needs of automakers through the development of various form factors.
SK On has completed the development of prototypes and plans to begin producing prototypes within this year. The prismatic battery made by SK On is characterized by fast charging speed. The SF (Super Fast) battery, which received the Best Innovation Award at CES earlier this year, can be charged up to 18% in 80 minutes. SK On’s prismatic battery further increased this speed. SK On is expected to be able to further diversify its suppliers by adding a prismatic shape to the existing pouch type.
SK On plans to decorate this year’s InterBattery exhibition with the theme of ‘Move On’. Last year, when it participated in InterBattery for the first time since its founding, it was ‘Power On’, which means ‘to cast a vote’. Now, Move On is put forward in the sense of expansion and development.
The core of this year’s exhibition is SK On’s diverse cell portfolio, which has not been disclosed until now. It plans to unveil ‘Cobalt-free’ batteries, LFP batteries, and prismatic batteries that completely exclude cobalt. The all-solid-state battery, which contains SK On’s next-generation technology, will also be unveiled for the first time.
SK On advanced its target date by more than a year and recently succeeded in developing a ‘Co-Free’ battery. Ternary batteries usually have a shorter lifespan due to structural instability in the absence of cobalt, but this critical drawback has been overcome. In addition, the unique high-nickel technology improved the energy density problem of cobalt-free batteries and secured the mileage. Price competitiveness is expected to increase as nickel or manganese is used instead of cobalt, which is the most expensive among ternary battery materials.
At this exhibition, LFP battery prototypes will also be unveiled. LFP batteries have a 20-50% mileage, especially at low temperatures (-70), but SK On has raised this to 70-80%. This is because it succeeded in applying the material and electrode technology accumulated through high-nickel batteries to LFP batteries. Compared to ternary batteries, LFP batteries have a shorter range but are cheaper to produce. There is an evaluation that it caught two rabbits at once, technology and price.
The all-solid-state battery prototype, which is being researched as a next-generation battery, will also be unveiled. On the 15th, the opening day, Choi Kyung-hwan, in charge of SK On’s next-generation battery, will be a speaker at the InterBattery Conference under the theme of ‘All-Solid-State Battery: SK On’s Technology Strategy for Safer Batteries’. SK On is developing sulfide-based all-solid-state and polymer/oxide-based all-solid-state batteries to realize safe batteries with high energy density.
The SK On exhibition hall is structured in the shape of a power button and consists of three zones. The booth, which is visible right after entering the entrance, introduces SK On’s technology and diverse portfolio, which have been globally recognized at CES, the world’s largest home appliance and IT exhibition. High-nickel battery NCM3+, which won the Innovation Award for two consecutive years at CES, as well as prototypes of cobalt-free and LFP batteries can be seen here.
In the first zone with the theme of SK On’s ‘Present’, you can directly touch battery raw materials, pouches, copper foil, cells, etc. according to the manufacturing order. It introduces the premium separator that blocks contact between the anode and cathode and the Z-folding technique, which is a technology for stacking separators in a zigzag pattern. SK On’s cell-to-pack (CTP) technology will also be unveiled through an S-Pack model that blocks heat so that fire does not spread from battery cells to the entire pack.
In the second ‘Application’ section, the excellent performance of SK On’s high-nickel battery is announced through the case of V2L (Vehicle to Load), which utilizes battery power to external electronic devices. In fact, NCM9 drew attention at the end of last year in Canada, when the owner of an electric pickup truck (F-150 Lightning) used electric power for 44 hours at the time of a massive power outage due to heavy snow, and the capacity remained at 65%.
The third ‘Future’ section introduces the next-generation technology that SK On dreams of through all-solid-state batteries in detail. Along with this, SK On’s eco-friendly activities covering the entire life cycle of batteries, from battery raw materials to production, charging, recovery of waste batteries, and recycling, and a plan to present a vision of net zero carbon emissions.
An official from SK On said, “We plan to introduce our current state and introduce advanced battery technology to be deployed in the near future.” We will respond to these challenges and further expand our global competitiveness.”