lgchem
Latest
LG will build Europe's biggest EV battery factory next year
As the auto industry fatefully moves into electric vehicles, Europe's major car-makers need high capacity batteries. Until now, companies like VW, Volvo and BMW have had to import batteries from Asia. LG's forthcoming car battery factory in Poland, the first in Europe, hopes to fulfil that growing demand. "The company has chosen Poland as the most competitive location for production to satisfy the needs of European and global car producers," said Chang-Beom Kang, vice president at LG Chem. The facility will cost $1.63 million, based in the city of Wroclaw which is close to the country's border with Germany. (In case you didn't know, Germany is a major car manufacturing country.)
Samsung reportedly plans to use LG batteries in future phones
Samsung is determined to avoid another Galaxy Note 7-style disaster, and that may lead it to make strange bedfellows. Chosunilbo sources claim that Samsung is in serious talks with LG Chem about using its Korean arch-rival's batteries in smartphones. There's a "strong chance" that you could see LG batteries in Samsung phones by the second half of 2017, one tipster says. You likely wouldn't have an LG power pack in your Galaxy S8 if this is true, but you might see one in the Note 7's successor.
Faraday Future unveils 'world's highest energy density' EV battery
Faraday Future has partnered with LG Chem to build battery packs for Faraday's upcoming FFZero1 supercar and other vehicles that use its new electric car platform. In a joint press release, the companies said they have produced "the world's highest energy density for a production automotive battery." Faraday Future and its products are still a mystery, but LG Chem is a well-known firm that's supplying batteries for two important EVs set to arrive this year: the Chevy Bolt and Renault Zoe.
LG's hexagonal battery promises longer-lasting smartwatches
Quite a few smartwatches are round, so why are they still using rectangular batteries? LG Chem certainly doesn't think that makes sense. It just started shipping a hexagonal battery that should deliver 25 percent more capacity in circular watches, where a lot of space normally goes to waste. You're theoretically getting another four hours of juice, or enough to make it through a long night without resorting to a low-power mode. The company isn't naming customers, but it's safe to say that LG's next wave of rounded wristwear will last that much longer. And that's just the start -- LG is planning more unusually-shaped batteries that will extend the running time of gadgets without dictating their look and feel.
California's giant battery test is a step towards clean energy
One of the biggest challenges of switching to clean energy sources is finding a place to store excess power. That's relatively easy on a small scale, but it's much more daunting for your utility company. Southern California Edison is apparently ready to take on that challenge, however. It just launched the Tehachapi Energy Storage Project, a large-scale experiment in using lithium-ion batteries (608,832 of them, to be exact) to preserve unused electricity. For the next two years, the 32 megawatt-hours array will scoop up leftover energy from nearby sources, including a wind turbine area; SCE will be watching closely to see how the lithium-ion packs improve its grid's real world performance.
LG Chem has curved batteries in production, ready for 'phones, watches and glasses'
Similar to LG's run up to the Optimus G last year, it's again demonstrating how each of its various units participate in building the next LG smartphone. Now that LG Display has confirmed production of "bendable and unbreakable" smartphone displays, it's LG Chem's turn to show off what it's doing. The company announced today that it has curved batteries in mass production, which will power the next generation smart phone from LG Electronics. Using its patented "Stack and Folding technology" the company can build batteries it says will fit phones, as well as watches or glasses. Other designs it's cooked up include the Stepped Battery it uses to fill extra space in the new G2 with more battery, providing 16 percent more capacity. Finally, its Cable Battery (pictured above) will be ready in "upcoming years," with a design perfect for wearables or watches that can even be tied in a knot, and won't heat up during use.
LG Chem develops very flexible cable batteries, may leave mobile devices tied up in knots
The world is no stranger to flexible batteries, but they've almost always had to be made in thin sheets -- that doesn't amount to a long running time if you're powering anything more than a watch. LG Chem has developed a flexible lithium-ion battery that's not just better-suited to our bigger gadgets but could out-do previous bendable energy packs. Researchers found that coating copper wires with nickel-tin and coiling them briefly around a rod results in a hollow anode that behaves like a very strong spring; mating that anode with a lithium-ion cell leads to a battery that works even when it's twisted up in knots. Join multiple packs together, and devices could have lithium-ion batteries that fit many shapes without compromising on their maximum deliverable power. Some hurdles remain to creating a production-grade battery, such as a tendency for the pack to shed a small amount of capacity whenever it's put under enough stress. LG Chem is fully set on turning these cable batteries into shippable technology, however, and could ultimately produce mobile devices and wearables that really do bend to their owners' every whim.
Fire at battery plant threatens global supply of exploding laptop batteries
The fallout of the March 3rd fire at LG Chem, the second biggest S. Korean manufacturer of laptop batteries, is now clear. There's a global shortage of batteries which won't be relieved until LG Chem can restart the assembly lines in another 2 to 3 months. Dell claims that the shortage has already caused an increase in price for secondary or replacement batteries. ASUS says it could affect up to 40% of ASUS' laptop shipments including the Eee PC. Bad news for us, good news for Samsung SDI and Sony in Japan as laptop OEMs look elsewhere for inventory.
