[Economy pick] K-Battery share "Tuk"... What about the path?

[Anchor]
Let's take a look at the last keyword.

K-Battery Share 'Tuk'…What about the way out?

It is one of the industries with high global competitiveness.

Global share of K-batteries is falling?

[Reporter]
Yes, it is.

First of all, global demand for electric vehicle batteries has increased despite the slowing demand for electric vehicles and the so-called "casm."

Global battery usage for electric vehicles was expected to be 510.1 GWh in the first eight months of this year.

It has soared more than 75% from the same period in 2022.

It is more than 21.7% higher than last year.

Although growth itself has decreased slightly, it is significant that demand itself has increased, mainly for hybrids, despite slowing demand for electric vehicles.

The problem is the share of our three world-leading k-batteries.

Until last August, the three South Korean batteries accounted for 21.1% of the world's electric vehicle battery usage.

LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI maintained 3rd, 5th, and 7th positions, respectively.

Compared to the same period last year, the market share decreased by 3.4 percentage points.

China's CATL and BYD, on the other hand, have grown more than 25% in a year, maintaining their No. 1 and No. 2 global share.

[Anchor]
Actually, I understand if everyone in the battery industry says it's difficult, but why is it only Chinese companies doing well?

[Reporter]
Yes, exactly, it has high technology, but it can be said that the time has come wrong.

What our three batteries have focused on so far is a ternary battery that uses nickel, cobalt, and manganese as cathode materials.

The long range and light weight require high technology, while the big disadvantage is that it is expensive and more vulnerable to high temperatures.

Instead of these ternary batteries,
due to recent concerns over electric vehicle firesDemand for LFP batteries, which have shorter driving distances
but are cheaper and a little more stable, is increasing.

It is also a product that Chinese companies have focused on price competitiveness as a weapon,

In addition, it gained a relative advantage by entering Europe and the United States based on the Chinese domestic market.

[Anchor]
Rather, we lost the lead while pursuing high technology, so how are our companies responding?

[Reporter]
Yes, all three of our batteries have announced their plans to enter the LFP battery market, which was dominated by Chinese companies.

Some places have already received LFP orders from the finished car industry and are about to mass-produce.

We are also focusing on developing ESS energy storage devices using LFP.

In particular, LG Ensol also held a vision sharing meeting to break through the crisis.

In addition to electric vehicles, it announced its goal to double last year's sales by 2028 by expanding businesses such as ESS, urban air transportation UAM, and robots, and increasing competitiveness in mid- to low-end markets such as LFP.

[Kim Dong-myung / CEO of LG Energy Solution: We will no longer stay in the battery manufacturing industry, but will expand into an energy business centered on energy circulation. LG Energy Solutions will play a role as a total solution provider in all energy-related fields.]

In addition, we expand our business by building battery life cycle services such as battery lease and recycling,

has made it clear that we will not just wait for an increase in demand for electric vehicles.