■ Collaboration in various projects to improve the EV battery sales solutions and enhance battery reuse and recycling
■ Establishing a virtuous cycle of resources that will further stabilize the material supply chain and maximize added value
■ Two companies to enhance the competitiveness of battery reuse business to embrace the era of EVs
■ Creating opportunities for the future cooperative schemes in the mobility-battery industry
■ SK Innovation to acquire the exclusive technology to pre-extract lithium hydroxide from the battery after the establishment and use of the BaaS system based on 5R

SK Innovation and Hyundai Motor Group have agreed to cooperate in the development of the EV battery industry, the core of the future mobility industry.

SK Innovation and Hyundai Motor Group announced on the 8^th (Tue) that they are planning to cooperate in diverse business areas related to the EV battery industry, including ▲ EV batteries sales solutions such as lease and rentals; ▲ battery management services; and ▲ battery reuse and recycling.

This cooperation is based on both sides’ shared need to create a battery value chain and strengthen eco-friendliness in business operations covering the entire lifecycle of EV batteries.

Unlike the existing mobility-battery cooperation schemes that focused on battery supply, the cooperation of SK Innovation and Hyundai Motors aims to create a virtuous cycle through BaaS (battery-as-a-service). This will serve as an opportunity for more diversely cooperative systems in the future between mobility and battery companies.

Through this partnership, both parties aim to ▲ create a virtuous cycle system of resources from recycling to production and strengthen the stability of material supply; ▲ reduce carbon emissions; ▲ encourage optimal design that connects EVs and battery reuse, and create synergies by maximizing the added value of it.

To enable this, the two companies are cooperatively carrying out the initial process of collecting and verifying battery packs of Kia Motors’ Niro EV.

In particular, they will actively seek solutions that can maximize value and eco-friendliness of EV batteries through ▲ reuse of batteries that are no longer useable in vehicles for other purposes such as the Energy Storage Systems (ESS); and ▲ battery recycling that extracts economically valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt from batteries.

This will fundamentally enhance the business feasibility and competitiveness of the EV battery reusing business to embrace the future of EVs.

In addition, SK and Hyundai Motor Group are planning not only to strengthen the competitiveness of EV batteries, but also to expand related industries by combining business infrastructure and capabilities across various fields operated by their affiliates.

“Our cooperation with SK Innovation, a first-tier supplier for our Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) that will be in service in 2021, has a critical meaning as the first step in maximizing synergies between mobility and battery companies,” said Chi Youngcho, President and Chief Innovation Officer of Hyundai Motor Group. “We expect our cooperation will play an immensely positive role in strengthening Hyundai-KIA’s competitiveness in EVs as well as expanding the supply of eco-friendly EVs.”

Jee Dongseob, President of SK Innovation’s Battery Business said, “It is highly meaningful that Hyundai Motor Group, which is leading the popularization of EVs in the global markets, and SK Innovation, which possesses the most advanced technologies in battery development and recycling, have decided to cooperate across the entire EV cycle. Both companies will create a seamless collaboration system to explore new business opportunities across the whole battery value chain and contribute to the Green New Deal and toward improving the competitiveness of future mobility industries.”

Meanwhile, SK Innovation announced that it will establish a Battery as a Service (BaaS) system with the 5R strategy (Rental, Recharge, Repair, Reuse, Recycle), and will complete the entire value chain of EV battery businesses based on e-Mobility. SK Innovation has developed the technology to extract lithium from the battery in form of lithium hydroxide, and also extract the NCM metals from batteries so they may be used in manufacturing high nickel anode materials such as NCM811. This technology is on the verge of being commercialized, and it is expected to maximize the synergy of their cooperation with Hyundai-KIA motors in utilization of EV batteries.

[Photos]
(Photo 1) Jee Dongseob, President of SK Innovation’s Battery Business
(Photo 2) Chi Youngcho, President and Chief Innovation Officer of Hyundai Motor Group

    

                                                      (Photo 1)                                                                     (Photo 2)