LG Energy Solution launches new battery task force

LG Energy Solution has formed a task force to develop prismatic batteries and is in talks with its customers. According to LG, the EV market increasingly demands these batteries due to increased safety and cost-efficient production processes.

The information on the establishment of the task force came from a report by Business Korea, however, the article does not cite any specific sources for this information. There is also no comment from the company. For battery cell manufacturer LG Energy Solution, which was spun off from LG Chem in 2020, it would be a change of strategy to develop and produce prismatic cells. To date, LGES has specialised in pouch cells and cylindrical cells, both for use in vehicles and in stationary energy storage systems.

In the automotive industry, however, the trend is towards cell-to-pack battery concepts (CtP), in which the cells are installed directly in the battery pack without going through the modules. As the cells are also subjected to structural loads, cell-to-pack concepts are only possible with battery cells that have a solid and stable housing, such as cylindrical cells or prismatic cells. However, pouch cells (also known as pouch cells) only consist of a thin foil pouch on the outside and are therefore not suitable for CtP batteries. Business Korea also cites the higher safety and more cost-efficient production processes, which are said to have increased the demand for prismatic cells. One disadvantage of this cell format is that due to the stable aluminium housing, the energy density is lower than that of round cells or pouch cells, meaning that the weight is somewhat higher for the same energy content.

LGES has fundamental experience with this cell format: as a unit of LG Chem, the company developed prismatic cells for smaller devices in the 1990s and mass-produced them until the 2010s, according to the report. However, prismatic cells for electric cars are likely to be somewhat larger than the developments at that time.

Should LGES actually decide to enter into the production of prismatic cells for electric vehicles, the company would probably be the first global player in the battery industry to offer all three formats. As a rule, companies – including LGES at present – focus on two formats. From South Korea, only Samsung SDI currently offers prismatic cells, but SK On is also developing this cell format.

businesskorea.co.kr