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.

Popolnoma polprevodniške baterije vsebujejo trdne elektrolite, zato je nevarnost požara majhna. Čeprav imajo visoko energijsko gostoto, se verjame, da polprevodniške baterije spreminjajo igro.

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.

“Konstrukcija testne linije pomeni, da je Samsung SDI do določene mere premagal tehnične težave množične proizvodnje polprevodniških baterij,” je dejal vir iz industrije.

Največja preostala ovira je zdaj tehnologija, ki zagotavlja hitrejše polnjenje pri sobni in nizkih temperaturah. Ionska prevodnost trdnih elektrolitov je nižja kot pri tekočih elektrolitih, zato je stopnja polnjenja in praznjenja polprevodniških baterij nižja kot pri običajnih baterijah.

Pilotna linija bo Samsung SDI približala množični proizvodnji popolnoma polprevodniških baterij kot njegovi konkurenti. LG Energy Solution in SK On razvijata tehnologijo polprevodniških baterij s ciljem začeti množično proizvodnjo okoli leta 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 se namerava osredotočiti na delovanje tovarn baterijskih celic v Tianjinu in Xi’anu z zaprtjem vseh svojih tovarn baterijskih paketov na Kitajskem.