The world’s leading battery maker LG Chem said Sunday it has developed a hexagonal battery, which the firm said would give more leeway for device makers in designing smartwatches.

The world’s first hexagonal battery boasting 25 percent more energy efficiency than a conventional rectangular battery can increase the battery life of a smart watch by up to 4 hours, according to the Seoul-based battery manufacturer.

The battery business wing of LG Group said it has been working together in recent months with global smartwatch makers, which may release digital wristwatches fitted with LG Chem’s hexagonal battery this year.

LG Chem refused to detail its deals with the smartwatch firms due to non-disclosure agreements.

“A company should come up with never-seen-before products to take the lead in the market,” said Kwon Young-soo, president of LG Chem’s battery business division, in a press release, vowing to make LG Chem the top player in the global market for small-sized batteries by 2018.

An official from the battery firm expected the demand for battery products that allow various designs of devices to explosively increase in the coming years.

Smartwatches are forecast to take up around 40 percent of the global market for wrist-worn devices by 2016 and around 100 million smartwatches will likely be shipped by 2020, according to research firm Gartner.

In order to better meet the needs of device makers, the battery firm has developed different forms of batteries including a stepped battery, which has layers of battery cells stacked up inside, a curved battery, and a flexible cable battery.

The company, one of the leading players in the large-sized battery market, also supplies its batteries for global carmakers including GM, Ford, Renault-Nissan and Audi.

By Kim Young-won  (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)