Hyundai Motor Invests $100 Million in US Battery Company, Strengthening Battery Business

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Hyundai Motor Company is strengthening its battery development capabilities by investing $100 million in SolidEnergy Systems (SES), a U.S. battery development company.

According to industry sources on the 5th, Hyundai Motor signed an equity investment agreement with SES last month. SES is a startup that spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research lab in 2012, with major shareholders including General Motors (GM) and the Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund.

SES is known to possess advanced technology in the development of lithium metal batteries (LMB), which have an energy density about 10 times higher than lithium-ion batteries (LIB) mainly used in electric vehicles. They plan to build a production plant in Boston with GM, aiming for full-scale commercialization in 2025.

Hyundai’s equity investment in SES is interpreted as a move because batteries are expected to be a core component of future mobility, a key growth area for the group. Hyundai is expanding investments not only in electric vehicles but also in urban air mobility (UAM), robotics, and other future growth sectors.

In particular, Hyundai plans to invest $7.4 billion over five years from this year through 2025 in the U.S. to expand electric vehicle production facilities and new businesses such as UAM. Accordingly, investments and business partnerships with various local companies, including SES, are expected.

Regarding this, a Hyundai official stated, "We are currently investing in various electrification-related companies, and the SES investment is part of that," adding, "No specific plans such as joint battery development have been finalized."

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