Hyundai and battery supplier SK Innovation have announced that they will cooperate on the development of a sustainable ecosystem for EV batteries. The cooperation will cover business areas related to the EV battery industry, including battery sales solutions, battery management service and battery reuse and recycling.
According to Hyundai, the collaboration stems from the companies’ shared need to create a battery value chain and strengthen eco-friendliness in business operations covering the entire lifecycle of EV batteries. To enable cooperation, both sides are focusing on the initial process of collecting and verifying the battery pack of Kia Motors’ e-Niro model.
Unlike existing cooperation schemes between mobility companies and battery companies that tended to center on battery supply, the two companies say they will focus on Battery as a Service (BaaS), which includes lease or rental service. The intent, they say, is to strengthen the stability of the battery supply chain from recycling to production. For example, through ensuring batteries can be rerolled as energy storage systems (ESS) outside of automotive applications.
“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.”
In addition to collaborating with SK Innovation, Hyundai states it 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.