Samsung SDI-Volvo Trucks Expand Collaboration in Construction Equipment and ESS Sectors

Expanding Cooperation in the Existing Electric Truck and Bus Sectors

Choi Yoon-ho, President and CEO of Samsung SDI (left), and Martin Lundstedt, Chairman and CEO of Volvo Group, are commemorating the 5th anniversary of the strategic business agreement at Samsung SDI's Cheonan plant. Photo by Samsung SDI

Samsung SDI and Volvo Trucks, the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, celebrated the 5th anniversary of their "strategic alliance" this year with a commemorative event and pledged to expand their cooperation further.

Samsung SDI announced on the 7th that Martin Lundstedt, Chairman and CEO of Volvo Group, along with Volvo executives, visited Samsung SDI's Cheonan plant last month to tour the facility and hold a commemorative event. At this meeting, both companies agreed to broaden the scope of their collaboration for sustainable mobility from Volvo's electric trucks and buses to construction equipment and energy storage systems (ESS).

Samsung SDI began supplying battery cells for electric trucks and buses to Volvo Trucks in 2018 through the German pack company Akasol. In 2019, the two companies signed a "strategic business agreement for next-generation e-mobility."

Accordingly, Samsung SDI started directly supplying cells and modules to Volvo last year, and the packs jointly developed by both companies were installed in Volvo electric trucks. Through cooperation with Samsung SDI, Volvo Trucks is leading the electric commercial vehicle market with its medium-duty electric trucks. In the heavy-duty truck market, it has also launched its first pure electric model and is currently mass-producing it.

The "FM Electric," the world's first heavy-duty electric truck launched by Volvo Trucks last year, is equipped with about 28,000 of Samsung SDI's "21700" (21mm diameter cylindrical battery) high-nickel (91%) batteries.

The executives of both companies pledged to expand cooperation for sustainable mobility. Yoon-ho Choi, CEO of Samsung SDI, said, "To further strengthen the strategic alliance that has continued for the past five years, Samsung SDI will provide battery solutions that guarantee the highest quality and safety with superior technology to a wider range of Volvo Group applications."

Martin Lundstedt, Chairman and CEO of Volvo Group, stated, "The alliance with Samsung SDI continues to drive technological advancements toward sustainable mobility, and with batteries optimized for Volvo Group's applications, we are one step closer to achieving our 2040 net-zero supply chain goal."

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