Samsung announced on March 14 that it has broken ground on a 6,500-square-meter all-solid-state battery test line at the site of its research facility in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. The company named it “S-Line,” where S stands for “Solid,” “Sole,” and “Samsung SDI.”

Samsung SDI plans to introduce pure battery electrode plates, solid electrolyte processing equipment and battery assembly equipment at the S-Line. So far, the company has made one or two prototypes in the lab. When the S-Line is completed, large-scale pilot production will be possible.

Baterai all-solid-state mengandung elektrolit padat, jadi ada sedikit risiko kebakaran. Meskipun memiliki kepadatan energi yang tinggi, baterai solid-state juga diyakini sebagai pengubah permainan.

Samsung SDI is developing a solid-state battery with a sulfide-based electrolyte. Compared with polymer oxide-based electrolytes, this electrolyte has advantages in terms of scale-up of production and charging speed. Samsung SDI has obtained the design and patent of the sulfide electrolyte material and has entered the technology verification stage.

“Pembangunan jalur uji berarti bahwa Samsung SDI telah mengatasi kesulitan teknis produksi massal baterai solid-state sampai batas tertentu,” kata sumber industri.

Rintangan terbesar yang tersisa sekarang adalah teknologi untuk memastikan pengisian yang lebih cepat di ruangan dan suhu rendah. Konduktivitas ionik elektrolit padat lebih rendah daripada elektrolit cair, sehingga tingkat charge-discharge baterai semua solid-state lebih rendah daripada baterai konvensional.

Jalur percontohan akan membawa Samsung SDI lebih dekat ke produksi massal baterai solid-state daripada pesaingnya. LG Energy Solution dan SK On sedang mengembangkan teknologi baterai solid-state dengan tujuan memulai produksi massal sekitar tahun 2030.

Among battery startups, Volkswagen-backed QuantumScape plans to start mass production of all-solid-state batteries as early as 2024. Solid Power, which has BMW and Ford as major shareholders, also announced that it will release electric vehicles with solid-state batteries in 2025. SES, backed by Hyundai Motor Co and General Motors (GM), also hopes to commercialize lithium metal batteries by 2025.

Meanwhile, Samsung SDI liquidated its Wuxi-based battery pack company SWBS in late 2021, according to battery industry sources. Samsung SDI previously completed the liquidation of another battery pack company, SCPB, based in Changchun, China, in early 2021. As a result, Samsung SDI has completely withdrawn from the battery pack business in China.

Samsung SDI berencana untuk fokus mengoperasikan pabrik sel baterai di Tianjin dan Xi’an dengan menutup semua pabrik paket baterainya di China.