Observe meetings during next month’s Korea-US summit
Battery supply is expected to be discussed with CEO Peter Rawlinson
It is known that the Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong will meet with the management of Lucid Motors in the United States for cooperation in electric vehicle batteries. After meeting BMW chairman Oliver Zipse on June 12 last year, Chairman Lee visited Samsung SDI’s Suwon factory in February this year to tour the all-solid-state battery test (pilot) production line, and he seems to be focused on the battery. business.
According to the battery industry on the 23rd, Chairman Lee is scheduled to meet with Lucid Motors management next month. President Yoon Seok-yeol is expected to accompany President Yoon Seok-yeol on his state visit to the United States on April 26 and meet at a Korea-US business roundtable meeting. At Lucid Motors, CEO Peter Rawlinson is expected to discuss directly with Chairman Lee about ways to collaborate with electric vehicle batteries.
Lucid Motors is an American electric vehicle company founded in 2007. Listed on NASDAQ in 2021. Premium electric vehicles worth more than 100 million won are the main focus. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF), led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, is the largest shareholder. In 2018, an investment agreement was signed for $1 billion (about 1.1 trillion won at the time).
Crown Prince bin Salman also has a close relationship with Chairman Lee. When Chairman Lee met with King Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in 2018, cooperation on electric vehicle batteries was discussed. It is rumored that the then Crown Prince Binsal strongly recommended that Saudi Arabia build a battery factory. However, at the time, Chairman Lee was in a situation where he could not escape as a result of the Gukjeong Nongdan incident, and the battery industry was not in the spotlight as it is now, so it was not really promoted.
When Chairman Lee and Lucid Motors management meet, the immediate topic of discussion is battery supply. Lucid Motors has used cylindrical batteries from Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solutions. As of 2020, LG Energy Solutions is in charge of most of the volume. However, this contract expires in 2023. Samsung SDI can offer Lucid Motors a 46-pie cylindrical battery (Φ 46 mm in diameter) that it has decided to supply to BMW.
In particular, given the relationship between Chairman Lee and Lucid Motors and Crown Prince bin Salman, and the recent rapid growth of the battery market, there is a possibility that the battery factory construction mentioned in 2018 will be mentioned again. Since 2016, Saudi Arabia has been promoting the ‘Saudi Vision 2030 Project’ with digital, renewable energy, electric vehicles and bio industries as the next new growth engines.
As Chairman Lee toured the solid state battery pilot line not too long ago, a plan to promote the joint project could come up. The all-solid battery pillion line will be completed in the first half of the year. As Chairman Lee takes direct charge of the business site on this day, it can be seen that Samsung’s version of the ‘big battery gap’ strategy will be in full swing.
The Elec = Reporter Suhwan Lee shulee@thelec.kr
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