'K Battery' Sprint... Nearly 40,000 Patents

LG Chem Surpasses 20,000 Patents... Holds 10 Times More Technology Than Major Competitor China’s CATL

Samsung SDI’s Battery Patents Account for 70% of Total Patents... SK Innovation Also Aggressively Investing in R&D

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] It has been revealed that the combined battery-related patents of the three major domestic battery companies?LG Chem, SK Innovation, and Samsung SDI?are approaching 40,000. These three Korean battery firms are increasing research and development (R&D) expenditures and actively securing battery-related patents to dominate the global battery market, which has emerged as the next-generation growth engine.

According to the battery industry on the 11th, the total number of domestic and international battery-related patents held by LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation reached 39,181 as of the first half of this year.

The company with the most battery-related patents is LG Chem. The firm holds 22,016 battery-related patents, surpassing the 20,000 mark. This figure is about ten times higher than that of China’s CATL, the biggest competitor to Korean battery companies, which holds approximately 2,000 patents?1,909 within China and 59 overseas. LG Chem added more than 5,300 battery patents in about a year, up from 16,685 patents at the end of March last year. LG Chem’s patent competitiveness is the result of 30 years of continuous R&D efforts. The company plans to maintain its position as a global technology leader by continuously investing over 30% of its R&D budget, which exceeds 1 trillion KRW, in the battery sector.

Samsung SDI holds 15,965 battery-related patents domestically and internationally as of the end of the second quarter this year. This accounts for about 70% of Samsung SDI’s total 23,638 patents. Samsung SDI’s battery patents focus on next-generation battery technologies such as solid-state batteries. The company is also emphasizing the development of high-capacity batteries integrated with fast-charging technology, high-capacity high-nickel cathode technology, high-capacity silicon anode technology, and the establishment of smart factories controlled by sensors and artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung SDI invested approximately 409.2 billion KRW, about 8.26% of its sales, in R&D during the first half of this year. If the current trend continues, R&D spending, which has been on the rise since 2017, is expected to exceed 800 billion KRW this year, setting a new annual record.

SK Innovation, a latecomer in the battery business, has also completed registration of 1,200 patents. The company is making bold investments to improve next-generation battery technologies, such as the NCM 9½½ battery with nickel content exceeding 90%. SK Innovation invested 127.8 billion KRW in R&D during the first half of this year, a 30.9% increase compared to the previous year, continuing its aggressive investment strategy. Experts analyze that SK Innovation’s substantial investment in technology is aimed at catching up with the leading companies.

Industry insiders evaluate that unlike Chinese battery companies, which grow based on government subsidies and support, 'K-battery' companies have meaningfully secured technological capabilities through long-term self-driven R&D investments. A battery industry official said, "The best way to survive competition with companies from China and others is to firmly protect and defend intellectual property such as patents," adding, "We will make every effort to secure technology and focus on next-generation growth engines after the COVID-19 pandemic."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.