Choi Tae-won: "Battery Ecosystem, Industry-Academia Collaboration Is Very Important"

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won Emphasizes 'Future of Battery Technology' Again in Welcome Speech for Special Lecture
Eco-Friendly Energy Business Highlighted as Next-Generation Growth Engine
Strong Emphasis for Over 10 Years... No Mention of Battery Disputes

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is delivering a welcome speech at the 'Future of Battery Technology' special lecture webinar hosted by the Choi Jong-hyun Academic Foundation on the 19th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won emphasized on the 19th the importance of collaboration among researchers from industry and academia in the battery industry. Batteries, regarded as an eco-friendly energy business, are a field that the global industry is focusing on as the next-generation growth engine. Chairman Chey has also been emphasizing the importance of electric vehicle batteries for over a decade and has been dedicating company-wide efforts to this area.

On the morning of the same day, the special lecture titled "The Future of Battery Technology," hosted by the Choi Jong-hyun Academic Foundation chaired by Chairman Chey, featured presentations by Stanley Whittingham, a 2019 Nobel Chemistry laureate and professor at the State University of New York; Gerbrand Ceder, professor at UC Berkeley; and professors Kang Ki-seok and Choi Jang-wook from Seoul National University. In his prepared welcoming remarks, Chairman Chey stated, "We must look back on the dynamic past innovations in science and technology to properly undertake new attempts to create future industries," adding, "The recent success of the battery market is thanks to long-term collaboration among researchers involved in industry and academia."

SK Innovation, the flagship affiliate of SK Group, is focusing on the battery industry, particularly electric vehicle batteries. Since entering the lithium-ion battery market in earnest in the mid-2000s, it has devoted itself to research and development and began supplying electric vehicle batteries to domestic and international automakers. In 2011, when Chairman Chey visited the research center in Daejeon, he left a message saying, "The battery business will continue running until the day all cars run on SK batteries, and I will run together with it." The electric vehicle battery business aligns with the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management emphasized by Chairman Chey and is expected to grow rapidly in the future, prompting the group to increase investments in R&D, facilities, and manpower.

Since the special lecture focused on recent technological trends prepared by academic experts, Chairman Chey did not directly address the ongoing battery dispute between SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution, which has recently attracted attention. However, given Chairman Chey’s emphasis on the need for collaboration among researchers to grow the battery industry, there is analysis that the possibility of an agreement between the two sides has increased.

As China and Japan have rolled up their sleeves to enhance competitiveness in the battery industry, there have been consistent calls for South Korea to conclude corporate litigation and join forces in R&D. This is because, in the battery industry, securing resources, research and development capabilities, and technological investment are crucial, given the use of basic materials. Another factor drawing attention is the expectation that batteries will be used not only as electric vehicle components but across the entire industrial sector.

Chairman Chey emphasized, "In the expanding battery ecosystem, industry-academia collaboration is very important," adding, "This includes developing new materials for next-generation batteries and recycling and reusing spent batteries." He further stated, "The ability to collaborate and communicate with experts outside one’s own field of expertise is important, and such skills will serve as essential qualities for becoming future global leaders."

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