Home-grown technology for lithium batteries emerges
South Korean companies and universities have developed home-grown technology for next-generation rechargeable batteries, setting the stage for South Korea to lead this market, with an estimated value of 10 trillion won (US$10 billion) by 2012. A research task force for the development of next-generation batteries, made up of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, universities, companies, and research institutes, said on November 30 that it has completed developing four core components needed to manufacture lithium-cell rechargeable batteries. A lithium battery is the highest performing battery among commercially marketed models. Compared with a nickel-cadmium battery, a lithium battery has twice the usage time and is half the weight and size. The market for the next-generation rechargeable battery is led by the lithium-cell model, and is worth more than 5 trillion won this year. Japan accounts for 60 percent of the market, followed by South Korea's 22 percent and China's 18 percent. However, South Korea has potentially laid the groundwork to catch up Japan with the development of core components. Jeong Seung-il, a ministry official, said, "This new development is expected to produce imports worth 150 billion won a year."For the past two-and-a-half years, the task force developed lithium rechargeable batteries for use in various products, ranging from digital music players to hybrid cars. Kim Su-ryeong, a researcher at LG Chem affiliated with the task force, said, "We have generated visible achievements in small-sized batteries, including one for use in laptop computers." The ministry on November 30 said it aims to account for a half of global rechargeable battery market in 2012. However, the South Korean battery technology's weakness remains a lack of a specialized workforce and mass-production capabilities. Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
