On September 26, two "big guys" in the Korean auto industry, Hyundai Motor and Kia, launched a joint project to develop direct material synthesis technology without the use of precursors in the production of LFP battery coating for electric vehicles. This project has the participation of Hyundai Steel and Ecopro BM.
It is known that the project will be supported by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of Korea and will last for 4 years. Previously, on September 25, representatives of the above companies held a meeting to discuss future cooperation.
Accordingly, Hyundai Steel will develop a high-purified smooth iron powder treatment technology using recycled steel, while Ecopro BM will use this technology to develop directly synthetic LFP coating material.
If this project is successful, the production of LFP batteries may be more competitive in terms of cost in the industry because currently, most of the precious co-cate products are produced in some countries outside of Korea, leading to a high dependence on imports.
A representative of Hyundai Motor also said that the project has the potential to help establish a stable domestic raw material supply chain for LFP batteries, in order to reduce dependence on foreign imports and localize the necessary technologies. Thereby, improving the technological competitiveness not only of Hyundai and Kia Group but also of Korea.
