Samsung SDI "Leading the All-Solid-State Battery Market... Securing Ultra-Gap Technological Competitiveness" (Comprehensive)

Performance and Lifespan Feedback After All-Solid-State Sample Supply
"Electric Vehicle Growth After 2025... Proactive Preparation"

Samsung SDI has expressed its ambition to dominate the solid-state battery market, which is considered the next-generation battery.

At the earnings conference on the 30th, Samsung SDI stated, "In the fourth quarter of last year, we supplied solid-state battery samples produced at the S-line (pilot line) for electric vehicles to our customers," adding, "We expect to upgrade battery performance more quickly once we receive the results from customers' performance and lifespan tests."

Park Jong-sun, Vice President of Samsung SDI, said, "Securing mass production performance of core materials and technology for large capacity are the most important tasks in the solid-state business," and added, "Although it is difficult to predict how the solid-state market will develop, we will create and lead the market based on the technological leadership we have maintained so far."

Samsung SDI will begin mass production of the premium battery product for electric vehicles, 'P6,' starting this month. Samsung SDI stated, "The P6 product, which has improved energy density by more than 10% compared to P5, is scheduled to be mass-produced for customers in the Americas and Europe starting January this year," and added, "Although the sales proportion in the first quarter will not be large, meaningful sales performance is expected from the second quarter, and annually it is expected to account for a double-digit share within prismatic cells."

Samsung SDI announced that its main battery mass production plant in Hungary, Europe, is maintaining an operating rate of about 90%. Regarding expansion plans for this year, the company said, "If there is a short-term demand slowdown, oversupply may occur," but added, "This year, we will proactively prepare for capacity expansion at new bases to respond to the full-scale growth period of electric vehicles after 2025, while maximizing production efficiency of existing lines and maintaining high operating rates."

Regarding the U.S. Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC), Samsung SDI said, "Although the U.S. Department of Energy announced new detailed guidelines in December last year, it is difficult to finalize the FEOC judgment based solely on the presented criteria, so additional verification is needed to determine whether a major change in our strategy is necessary."

It continued, "Additional verification is also required to determine the core minerals subject to the transition rule (a two-year grace period applied to key minerals whose origin is difficult to trace)," and added, "We have submitted opinions and related inquiries, including a request for a grace period on graphite FEOC application, in coordination with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy."

On this day, Samsung SDI announced that it achieved a record-high sales performance last year with sales of 22.7083 trillion KRW, an increase of 12.8% compared to the previous year. However, operating profit slightly declined to 1.6334 trillion KRW due to a slowdown in the battery market.

Sales in the battery division were 4.9983 trillion KRW, down 343.3 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. Operating profit was 226.1 billion KRW, a decrease of 133 billion KRW from the previous year. The operating profit margin was 4.5%.

Sales in the electronic materials division were 566.5 billion KRW, down 57.8 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. Operating profit was 85.7 billion KRW, a decrease of 46 billion KRW from the previous year.

Samsung SDI forecasted the market outlook for this year, stating, "The automotive battery market is expected to grow about 18% year-on-year to approximately 184.8 billion USD (about 245.82 trillion KRW)." It added, "Although short-term growth is expected to slow due to continued high interest rates and economic recession, growth recovery in the second half is anticipated due to expectations of interest rate cuts." Samsung SDI also plans to prepare LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) products to meet market demand.

Choi Yoon-ho, CEO of Samsung SDI, said, "Despite the global economic recession last year, we achieved meaningful results such as sales growth and profitability improvement in our core business of electric vehicle batteries, and secured a future foundation for continuous growth," and added, "This year, we will continuously pursue qualitative growth with profitability superiority based on 'ultra-gap technological competitiveness, cost innovation, and expansion of new customers.'"

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