‘Cylindrical’ Battery Powers Buses Too… Geumyang & Pirain Motors Sign Electric Bus Battery Supply Contract (Comprehensive)

"Far Superior Versatility and Economy Compared to Existing Pouches and Prismatic Types"

Full-Scale Entry into the Mobility Industry Battery Sector

Geumyang has signed a contract to supply batteries to Piline Motors, an electric bus manufacturer.

On the 6th, Geumyang announced through the stock exchange that it had signed a supply contract with Piline Motors, which holds the second-largest market share in the domestic electric bus market, to enter the domestic electric bus market.

Having previously signed a 6-year distribution agreement worth 2.3 trillion KRW with the US company Nanotech Energy, Geumyang received a formal order worth 81.2 billion KRW for next year on the 3rd, and on the same day achieved the result of signing a supply contract with Piline Motors.

Image of the 21700 battery pack supplied by Geumyang for electric city buses.

Geumyang stated on its website bulletin board that “This is the first order contract applying Geumyang’s cylindrical batteries in the mobility sector, where pouch or prismatic batteries are mainly used, and we expect bright prospects for scalability and business potential in the future.”

The supply volume contracted with Piline Motors involves manufacturing battery systems (battery packs, BMS, high-voltage control boxes, harnesses) in pack form using the 21700-50E cylindrical batteries for electric buses, delivering a total of 750 units from 2026 to 2030. The contract amount is approximately 78.8 billion KRW.

The current contracted volume represents 50% of the supply volume agreed upon by both companies, so the total supply is expected to reach about 1,500 units worth approximately 157.5 billion KRW.

Piline Motors, established in 2003, is a specialized e-Mobility company and a leading producer of eco-friendly public transportation vehicles. It manufactures and imports electric buses, hydrogen buses, and electric vehicle chargers, leading domestic eco-friendly transportation solution projects.

The company has been supplying electric buses since 2017, surpassing cumulative sales of 1,000 units by 2024, and recorded consolidated sales of 171.9 billion KRW in 2023. It is a company focusing on electric and commercial vehicle businesses based on domestic manufacturing.

By supplying Geumyang’s 21700 batteries for this electric bus production, the versatile, compatible, and economical 21700 batteries have now entered the electric vehicle market in earnest, in addition to ESS and UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) applications.

Image of an electric bus produced by Pylain Motors.

Currently, Seoul plans to distribute a total of 3,500 electric city buses by 2025 and is expected to convert more than 40% of the city buses operating in Seoul to electric buses. Other local governments are following a similar trend to expand eco-friendly electric buses.

Starting with the contract with Piline Motors, Geumyang aims to make cylindrical batteries, which excel in safety and economy, a core component of energy sources for electric vehicles.

Geumyang Vice President Lee Kwang-yong said, “We will evolve battery technology with a spirit of challenge and pioneering, supplying next-generation secondary batteries that meet all safety requirements, and grow into an innovative company leading the future eco-friendly mobility market as well as the ESS and UPS markets.”

He also emphasized, “It is crucial to create an environment where complementary collaboration among battery companies can enable the K-battery industry to have national competitiveness.”

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