Hyundai stated in a statement that construction would start on its new plant in Georgia in early 2023, and it plans to start commercial production there in the first half of 2025 with a capacity of 300,000 EVs per year.
The battery production plant will be developed through a strategic collaboration, the specifics of which will be released later, according to Hyundai Motor Group, which also owns Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and Kia Corp (000270.KS).
The facility is a significant component of Hyundai’s $7.4 billion investment program in the United States through 2025 to promote future mobility. Georgia anticipates bringing in an extra $1 billion in investment from unrelated Hyundai Motor Group suppliers on top of the first investment.
The battery division of SK Innovation (096770.KS), which supplies Hyundai with batteries, has constructed two nearby Georgia operations. Production for the first, which primarily serves Volkswagen AG (VOWG p.DE), began in the first quarter. Early in the following year, production on the second, which will supply Ford Motor Co. (F.N), is expected to start.
The American investment in Hyundai comes as U.S. Vice President Biden arrives in South Korea on Friday. View More
The South Korean auto group, one among the top five automakers in the world based on vehicle sales, has manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Georgia. Hyundai Motor announced in April that it would invest $300 million at its Montgomery assembly to introduce EVs. View More
Separately, Hyundai Motor Group announced Wednesday that it will spend $16.43 billion ($21 trillion won) through 2030 to grow its EV business in South Korea. View More
David Shepardson in Washington and Heekyong Yang in Seoul contributed to the reporting, while Kirsten Donovan and Bernard Orr edited it.
In This Article...
In response to the Kona EV battery fires, Hyundai seeks a new battery source.
In an effort to lessen its reliance on LG Chem batteries, automaker Hyundai will purchase additional electric vehicle batteries from the South Korean company SK Innovation.
In the wake of the Kona battery fire recall, which has affected hundreds of Australian drivers, SK Innovation is set to become Hyundai’s preferred supplier, according to sources cited by the South Korean technology news agency The Elec on Monday.
Since Hyundai was compelled to recall the Kona EV, putting its 20-year alliance in peril, the two parties have been at odds.
Business Korea said that LG Chem apparently denied that their batteries were to blame for the battery fires, but industry reports claim that Hyundai has been gradually reducing its reliance on LG Chem batteries, fueling rumors that the alliance may be in danger of breaking down.
In addition to having signed supply agreements or joint ventures with a number of automakers, including Tesla, China’s Geely, and the United States’ General Motors, LG Chem presently produces 24GWh of batteries annually from each of its Polish and Chinese facilities.
According to The Elec, SK batteries were installed in about 30% of the 41,600 Kona EVs that were sold up until July 2020.
In order to meet anticipated growth in demand in Europe and North America, Reuters reported in October that LG Chem planned to triple its output of EV batteries for Tesla.
From its factory in Nosovice, Czech Republic, SK Innovation has been selling batteries to Hyundai. The company has also constructed a factory in Hungary with a capacity of 9.7GWh of batteries annually.
Hyundai and SK Innovation announced in September that they would work together to create an ecosystem for EV batteries that would encompass battery reuse and recycling as well as supply chain optimization.
Hyundai now produces the Kona EV in its former combustion car manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic, with plans to increase production to 80,000 zero-emission vehicles annually to comply with stringent European vehicle emissions laws.
In order to be eligible for Chinese EV subsidies, it is known that the Hyundai Kona Electric is outfitted with a locally built CATL battery in China.
This article has been amended to include the fact that 796 vehicles with LG Chem batteries are included in the affected fleet.
Samsung Enercell
With its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Hyundai Enercell is a supplier of automotive parts. Originally known as Kyungwon Industry, it was founded in 1977 and later sold to become Hyundai Motor Group. The brand of battery is Solite.
Privately held corporation Solite Batteries, sometimes known as Solite, distributes car batteries made by Hyundai Motor Group through a network of independent retailers both locally and internationally. These Hyundai Mobis distributors are primarily auto dealers and repair facilities. All Battery Centers, which sell batteries for various electronic and cordless devices as well as those for Hyundai and Kia cars and Battery manufacture headquartered in Ulsan Plant, have just begun to operate.
Hyundai Motor Group has placed significant orders with SK On and LG Energy Solution for secondary batteries for next-generation electric vehicles (EVs).
With the EV9, a sizable electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) that Kia Corp. intends to deploy in 2019, SK On will be the exclusive supplier of batteries. The EV9 is the second electric vehicle from Kia and the first big car built on the E-GMP electric vehicle platform developed by Hyundai Motor Group. In November 2021, the EV9 concept automobile model made its debut at the New York Auto Show.
Additionally, IONIQ 5 robotaxi model and the export model for China, India, Indonesia, and Singapore both chose SK On as their battery provider. In addition to sharing the battery order volume for the IONIQ 6, which should be produced by 2022, with CATL and LG Energy Solution, SK On has also been selected as the sole battery supplier for the IONIQ 7, a sizable SUV that has not yet been made public.
In addition, LG Energy Solution, which has partnered with Hyundai Motor Group for a number of years, is getting ready to provide batteries for the forthcoming Niro EV and Kona Electric models. There is a chance that LG Energy Solution will receive additional orders, in particular as Hyundai Motor Group is talking about a battery supply strategy for a new electric car (the project name: SV) that it intends to mass-produce starting in 2024.
The announcement that Korean businesses will provide batteries for Hyundai Motor Group’s upcoming flagship EVs has been well received by the battery sector. Prior to 2019, 2020, and 2021, the Hyundai Motor Group chose China’s CATL, LG Energy Solution, and SK On as its E-GMP battery suppliers. The entire supply amount was 150GWh (2.5 million units).
It is noteworthy that Samsung SDI, which took part in the Hyundai Motor Group’s tender, is still not recognized as the organization’s battery provider. Hyundai Motor’s Alabama facility in the US will begin producing the Santa Fe hybrid and the GV70 EV at the end of 2022. These vehicles will employ batteries from LG Energy Solution and SK On, respectively.
Hyundai produces its own batteries, right?
With an unnamed strategic partner, the South Korean automaker will manufacture batteries at the facility, and the investment will create 8,100 employment.
In the US state of Georgia, Hyundai Motor Group will invest $5.5 billion in a factory that will start producing electric vehicles and batteries in 2025.
According to the company, the factory will help it achieve its aim of being one of the top three brands in electric vehicle (EV) sales in the US by 2026 by producing up to 300,000 EVs annually.
At a later time, when it also announces which models it aims to build at the facility, the company will name the strategic partner with whom battery manufacturing will be done.
According to Jaehoon Chang, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor, “We chose to establish our first dedicated EV facility in the US because America embraces change and promotes innovation.”
The company claimed that by constructing a battery production facility in the US, it would be able to create a reliable supply chain there.
The investment by Hyundai, which will result in 8,100 new jobs, follows a flurry of similar announcements by rival automakers looking to establish a presence in US EV production.
By 2030, Hyundai wants to sell 3.23 million battery electric vehicles annually worldwide.
The automaker stated that it intended to use artificial intelligence and data extensively at the new site, as well as adopt many of the innovative manufacturing technologies it is already testing at its innovation hub in Singapore.
However, automakers are attempting to acquire more control over the supply of the cells by creating their own, with a squeeze on battery minerals anticipated. Asian firms now produce the majority of lithium-ion batteries, including several from Hyundai’s home country of South Korea.
Because the battery is the most expensive single component in an electric car, domestic battery production is also a financially viable solution.
In order to create battery cells and modules in the US state of Indiana, US-European automaker Stellantis has announced intentions to invest $2.5 billion in a joint venture with Samsung SDI.
In other North American joint ventures, Stellantis and US automaker GM have partnered with LG Chem, a different South Korean battery manufacturer, while Ford is investing $11.4 billion in three new US battery plants with SK Innovation, another South Korean company.
As revealed in 2021, Hyundai claimed its $7.4 billion investment in the US by 2025 for EV production and smart mobility solutions includes its Georgia commitment.
Kia, a Korean manufacturer that is affiliated with the Hyundai Motor Group but separate from Hyundai Motor Company, has its US manufacturing base in Georgia. The automaker claimed that the location was advantageous due to the manpower in the state, good business climate, and supplier network.
What type of battery is used by Hyundai?
As was already established, Hyundai has previously used both of these battery producers. Earlier, SK Innovation provided the batteries for the initial production run of E-GMPs. In addition, CATL provides the battery batch for the second round of E-GMPs.
The Elec reported that CATL will provide the batteries for two of the three Hyundai vehicles expected to debut after 2023. The story claims that Hyundai likely selected CATL, which is based in China, so that it could expand more quickly there. In addition to being a significant hub for battery production, China continues to be one of the world’s biggest markets for EVs.
Furthermore, given that it has co-owned and run a production subsidiary in Beijing since 2002, Hyundai Motor Group is likely to profit from Chinese subsidies. The collaboration between Hyundai and Chinese battery manufacturers like CATL began here. Although it has not yet been confirmed, it seems reasonable that many of the models powered by CATL batteries will be built and sold in the Chinese market.
How are Hyundai Kona batteries made?
on 5 May 2020
The cathode used in the LG battery cells has a composition of 60% nickel, 20% manganese, and 20% cobalt. Five modules, two of which are stacked, are found under the floor in the main cabin of each 39-kWh pack, and there are two additional modules under the back seats. The battery pack contains about 180 cells that are connected in 60 groups of three batteries each.
Who makes the battery for the Hyundai Ioniq 5?
The battery system of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is still being disassembled at the BASTRO Power Station in South Korea. Now that the 72.6 kWh pack has been opened for around two weeks, it is time to inspect a specific module.
A module holds around 2.4 kWh of energy and is made up of 12 pouch cells. As far as we know, the modules and pack are made by Hyundai Motor Group’s subsidiary Hyundai Mobis, while the cells are produced by SK Innovation’s SK On (presumably using high-nickel NCM chemistry).
The cells are arranged in six pairs, each pair having a plate to transport heat to the cooling plate at the bottom.
The second video claims that the Hyundai Ioniq 5’s battery is “easy to repair,” which we interpret to suggest that in the event of a breakdown, it would be simple to replace modules and other elements.