SEOUL– South Korean battery maker SK On Co. said Monday it will present its high-nickel battery lineups and a next-generation solid state battery jointly being developed with a U.S. partner at a tech show in the United States next week.

SK On said it will unveil the Super Fast Battery, which has 83 percent nickel content and can cover over 400 kilometers on a single charge, at the CES 2023, which is set to take place in Las Vegas from Jan. 5-8.

SK On’s unique coating technology in the battery enables a fast charging speed of an 80 percent recharge in 18 minutes, compared with the industry average of 20-30 minutes.

The battery is used in Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and Kia’s EV6.
It will present the NCM9, a 90 percent nickel battery that SK On was the world’s first to have developed in 2019. Its special “Z-folding technology,” an enhanced stacking of separators that prevents direct contact between cathodes and anodes to reduce fire risks.

NCM9 is installed in Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck.

SK On will boast the S-Pack, a cell-to-pack technology that either skips the module stage or uses the modules to a minimum and put battery cells directly into packs, enhancing battery performance and reducing costs.

It also helps prevent heat and flames from spreading in case of a fire.

SK On, together with its U.S. partner, Solid Power, will exhibit the test product of a solid-state battery under joint development.

All-solid-state batteries use the solid form of electrolyte, a substance that helps the movement of ions in a battery, instead of a liquid or gel type, significantly reducing fire risks.

They can decrease the weight and volume of batteries, and deliver about 33 percent higher performance than lithium-ion batteries.

SK Innovation Co., SK On’s parent firm, invested US$30 million in Solid Power to produce all-solid-state batteries.

Source: Yonhap News Agency