[How About This Book] Japan's Early Lead, Korea's Comeback, and China's Takeover... The Full Story of the 'Battery Three Kingdoms'

The History of Batteries as the Key to Future Energy
From Commercialization Stories to the Rise of Related Industries
Explained in a Way Anyone Can Understand
The EV Market Slows After Last Year’s "Chasm"
A Forecast on When a Breakthro

In September 2023, during the annual State of the Union address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced the immediate launch of an investigation into subsidies for Chinese electric vehicles. The investigation, which lasted about nine months starting in October, concluded that the value chain of Chinese battery electric vehicles has been benefiting from unfair subsidies, posing a threat of economic harm to EU electric vehicle manufacturers.

At the time, market research firm JATO Dynamics reported that electric vehicles sold in China were about 40% cheaper than those sold in Europe, and approximately 50% cheaper than those sold in the United States. China benefited the most from climate policy subsidies. Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party, stated, "We do not want Chinese electric vehicles to benefit from our climate policies," and emphasized the need for trade protection measures to avoid suffering the same fate as the solar industry. He expressed concern that, like the solar industry, the electric vehicle sector could be overtaken by Chinese industry.

The author, an energy specialist at The Asia Business Daily, explains the history of batteries in accessible language for the general public. Although the book contains many technical terms and complex technological descriptions, it is written at a level that even middle school students can understand, making it easy for general readers to follow.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles and all kinds of electronic devices, were paradoxically invented by an oil company during the oil crisis of the 1970s. In September 1972, while working as a researcher at Exxon (now ExxonMobil), Stanley Whittingham, a professor at the State University of New York, discovered the phenomenon of molecules, atoms, and ions being inserted between the layers of materials with a layered structure while studying superconductors. He realized that this "intercalation" reaction could be used to store energy, which led him to begin battery research. The board of directors immediately granted full support, resulting in the creation of a rechargeable lithium secondary battery with a 2V output. Fears of a world without oil had intensified due to the spread of oil depletion theories in the scientific community during the 1960s and the outbreak of the 1973 oil shock. Whittingham was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019.

The author introduces the story of the commercialization of batteries in an engaging way. The first company to succeed in commercializing lithium-ion batteries was Sony of Japan, which brought the product to market for the first time in 1991. Sony's first lithium-ion battery was installed in the 8mm camcorder model CCD-TR1, and was subsequently used in all kinds of portable electronic devices. For 20 years until the 2000s, the lithium-ion battery market was dominated by Japanese companies. Sony, Sanyo Electric, Matsushita (now Panasonic), Toshiba, and Hitachi all played leading roles. By the mid-1990s, Japanese companies held a global market share of 90%.

Sanyo Electric was particularly notable. Although it entered the lithium-ion battery business later than Sony in 1994, aggressive investment allowed it to surpass Sony and take the number one spot by 1999. Sanyo supplied batteries to Nokia, which was then the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, and as Nokia rose to the top position, Sanyo's market share increased as well. The book also mentions the connection between Sanyo Electric and Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Chairman Iue was an alumnus of Waseda University along with Chairman Lee Byung-chul, and played a significant role in Samsung's entry into the battery business. The book recounts the founding of Samsung Sanyo Electric in 1969 and Samsung Sanyo Parts (now Samsung Electro-Mechanics) in 1973 as joint ventures between Sanyo and Samsung Electronics.

The book vividly describes the breathless journey of Korean companies, which entered lithium-ion battery development later but rapidly caught up with Japan after the 2000s. The three major Korean battery manufacturers-LG Chem (now LG Energy Solution), Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation (now SK On)-actively leveraged synergies with the domestic IT industry to establish their positions in the secondary battery market. Entering the nascent electric vehicle market ahead of the competition was a strategic move that allowed them to outpace Japanese companies.

However, Chinese companies such as BYD and CATL, which entered the market later, grew rapidly thanks to economies of scale and full government support, and began to erode the secondary battery market that Korean companies had dominated around 2010. This led to a three-way competition among Korea, China, and Japan in the battery industry.

The electric vehicle market, which had been booming, began to slow down around 2024. The media widely analyzed this as the "electric vehicle chasm." However, the author points out that this phenomenon was particularly pronounced in Korea. As subsidies for electric vehicles decreased globally, demand dropped sharply, but Korea was especially sensitive to this change. The author attributes this to automakers lowering vehicle prices out of necessity following the end of subsidies, which led them to use more of China's low-cost LFP batteries instead of Korea's high-priced ternary batteries. As Korea, a key pillar of global battery supply, lost ground to China, the impact was especially severe.

So when can we expect a breakthrough? The author predicts that around 2027, so-called "price parity" will be achieved, with electric vehicle prices becoming similar to those of internal combustion engine vehicles. If the $100 barrier is broken, demand for electric vehicles will recover, and battery companies can also expect improved performance.

This book stands out for the expertise of a specialist who has delved deeply into a single field. It is written in a clear and detailed manner, making it easy for even those unfamiliar with batteries to understand the context of the battery industry and related sectors. It reads like a storytelling history of batteries.

Battery War | Written by Kang Heejong | Bookie | 608 pages | 26,000 won

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