Representatives from battery giant Samsung and vehicle OEM Hyundai Motor Group have met in Korea to discuss use of a lithium-ion solid-state cell in next-generation electric vehicles.
The meeting between Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai Motor Group’s executive vice chairman Chung Eui-sun was held on 12 May at the battery plant of Samsung Display in Cheonan, near Seoul, reported the country’s media outlet Aju Business Daily.
The meeting follows Samsung revealing a prototype solid-state battery in March it claimed had reached 900Wh/L at around 50% smaller by volume than a conventional lithium-ion battery.
The prototype pouch cell would enable an EV to travel up to 800km on a single charge, and features a cycle life of more than 1,000 charges.
The Hyundai auto group aims to release 44 eco-friendly models by 2025, including 23 full-electric vehicles.
Hyundai Motor, and its affiliate Kia Motors, use batteries mainly from Korean firms LG Chem and SK Innovation (SKI).
In December 2019, SKI was chosen to supply cells for Hyundai’s electric crossover utility vehicles installed with a dedicated platform called E-GMP (Electric-Global Modular Platform) that can run up to 500km on a single charge.
Production of Hyundai’s first electric model based on E-GMP carrying an 800-volt battery will begin in the first quarter of 2021.
