SK On Opens Largest Safety Evaluation Center for Domestic Battery Companies

One-Stop Solution for Testing, Analysis, and Improvement Research

SK On Battery Safety Evaluation Center CT Room. Photo by SK On

SK On is significantly strengthening its in-house battery safety verification capabilities.

On the 26th, SK On announced that it has opened the 'SK On Battery Safety Evaluation Center' at its battery factory in Seosan, Chungnam, covering a total floor area of 3,392㎡ (approximately 1,026 pyeong), the largest among domestic battery companies.

Through this center, SK On aims to rapidly develop and internalize core competencies in the field of safety quality evaluation. As safety technology capabilities improve, it is expected to more easily respond to various quality demands from its customers. The SK On Battery Safety Evaluation Center is the first domestic battery company facility to have a 'one-stop solution' function for safety evaluation within a single facility.

At this center, it is possible to conduct ▲various safety verification tests ▲non-destructive analysis using computed tomography (CT) equipment to identify battery conditions and causes of ignition ▲structural analysis through battery disassembly. This means that from the stage of confirming product safety to in-depth analysis and self-driven research and development for improvements, all processes are carried out seamlessly.

Accordingly, SK On expects a significant improvement in research efficiency, including time and cost. Previously, safety tests were conducted at the module safety evaluation building within the Daejeon Battery Research Institute, after which the tested batteries were sent to external companies for CT analysis. Then, SK On had to retrieve the batteries again for disassembly and analysis.

SK On is currently bringing major testing equipment into the center. By October this year, after equipping all facilities, it plans to conduct various scenario-based safety tests on electric vehicle battery cells, modules, packs, and energy storage system (ESS) racks.

In particular, SK On plans to continuously conduct so-called ‘malicious tests’ that greatly exceed the typical tolerance range of batteries. For example, verifying battery durability under extreme temperatures such as minus 40 degrees Celsius and plus 80 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, it will be possible to perform reproduction tests simulating various electric vehicle accident environments such as fire, vibration, and impact, as well as tests for thermal runaway, overcharge and discharge, and external short circuits. Except for office spaces, the entire building is designed with explosion-proof structures to prevent damage from fire tests.

Seo Hyung-kwon, head of quality assurance at SK On, said, “SK On now has the highest-level battery safety evaluation facilities in Korea,” adding, “We will independently conduct and research numerous tests beyond the general scope of safety assurance to establish SK On’s unique quality competitiveness.”

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