South Korean automotive major Hyundai and Korean battery manufacturer SK Innovation have decided to collaborate on developing a sustainable ecosystem for electric vehicle batteries.
The cooperation between the two companies will focus on battery sales solutions, management, reuse, and recycling.
“Hyundai Motor Group’s cooperation with SK Innovation, a first-tier battery supplier for our Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) that will be introduced in 2021, marks a critical first step in maximizing synergies between mobility and battery companies,” said Youngcho Chi, President and Chief Innovation Officer of Hyundai Motor Group.
“We expect our cooperation to play an immensely positive role in strengthening Hyundai-Kia’s competitiveness in clean mobility as well as expanding the supply of eco-friendly EVs.”
What distinguishes Hyundai-SK partnership is that their cooperation will go beyond battery supply. It aims to develop a sustainable cycle of battery usage from recycling to production enhancing the eco-friendliness of EV batteries and maximizing the value, including reuse of batteries that are no longer useable in vehicles in diverse applications such as the Energy Storage Systems (ESS); and battery recycling that extracts economically valuable metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt.
“Both companies will create a seamless collaboration system to explore new business opportunities across the whole battery value chain,” said Dongseob Jee, President of SK Innovation’s Battery Business.
As a part of the initial process, both the companies are collecting and verifying the battery pack of Kia Motor’s Niro EV model.
Additionally, both Hyundai Motor Group and SK Innovation plan to combine their respective partner’s business infrastructures and capabilities spanning across industries, thereby strengthening their battery competitiveness, and expanding the growth of related sectors.
According to the official statement by Hyundai, the Hyundai Motor Group is striving to secure and open up new markets by collaborating with global players specializing in EV battery reuse, including Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Wärtsilä, OCI, and Hanwha Solutions.
