Some of Amazon’s planned 100,000-strong fleet of electric delivery vehicles will likely be powered by LG Energy Solution batteries, according to a recently-revealed deal between the US e-commerce giant and a Canadian EV maker. In its recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Lion Electric said it has a framework agreement with Amazon Logistics in place since summer last year to reserve production facilities for 500 Lion 6 and 8 electric trucks per year from 2021 and 20

Industry Jan. 13, 2021

Foreigners’ investment pledges to South Korea dropped 11.1 percent last year due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy, foreigners pledged investments worth $20.75 billion in 2020, down from $23.33 billion a year ago. Of the investment pledges, the amount executed came in at $11.09 billion, a 17 percent dive on-year from $13.36 billion. “Foreign direct investment decreased significan

Industry Jan. 12, 2021

South Korean game companies are making bold strides into the financial sector through partnerships with a group that needs innovation more than anyone else: legacy banks. Game companies, though quick to adopt latest technologies such as artificial intelligence, lack a testing ground to train and advance their innovations beyond the virtual spaces inside games. Legacy banks, on the other hand, has tons of quality data and a massive client base, but fall short of digital tools to digest and

Industry Jan. 12, 2021

Ultium Cells, the electric vehicle battery joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors, will hire 400 employees by the end of this year and 700 more by the end of next year, LG and GM said Tuesday. Founded in December 2019, the fledgling Ultium Cells currently has staff for human resources, training and workplace safety management. It is building a $2.3 billion facility in Lordstown, Ohio, with an annual production capacity of more than 30 gigawatt-hours. “Ultium Cells

Industry Jan. 12, 2021

Hanwha has introduced a new line of collaborative robots, making a foray into the fast-growing global collaborative robot market, it said Monday. “The HCR-3A, HCR-5A and HCR-12A models can handle an object weighing 3 kilograms, 5 kilograms and 12 kilograms, respectively, with enhanced designs and compatibility compared to previous models,” the company said in a press release, introducing its three new Hanwha Collaborative Robots with five new functions. 　 Robot AI 3D Vision improv

Industry Jan. 11, 2021

Samsung SDI said Friday that it had recently conducted an executive-level reshuffle to appoint a new electric-car battery chief. According to the South Korean electric vehicle battery maker, the reshuffle included major posts -- chief financial officer, head of the medium-to-large-battery division and head of the small-battery division. Kwon Young-no, chief of the business management office, has been replaced by Kim Jong-sung, who had previously worked at Samsung Electronics’ video di

Industry Jan. 8, 2021

Major South Korean petrochemical companies such as Hyosung Chemical and Lotte Chemical are enjoying an unexpected sales boost, as the pandemic has driven up demand for polypropylene, a raw material for mask filters and syringes. “Winter season is typically an off-season for the petrochemical industry. However, thanks to the pandemic, favorable market conditions continue for the petrochemical industry, even better than its usual peak season,” said SK Securities analyst Sohn Ji-woo.

Industry Jan. 8, 2021

Samsung Electronics’ wholly owned auto parts subsidiary Harman on Thursday unveiled new digital cockpit concepts that can turn a car into a gaming station, a concert hall or a studio office. At Harman ExPLORE 2021, held Thursday, the company introduced three new digital cockpits that offer customized in-vehicle experiences to drivers -- Gaming Intense Max, Drive-Live Concert and Creator Studio. “We believe cars should be for living, not just driving. We’re transforming the

Industry Jan. 8, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group confirmed Friday that it was in negotiations with Apple to manufacture an Apple Car. “The negotiations are in the early stages, but nothing has been decided, including whether Hyundai Motor will supply auto parts or manufacture the whole car,” a Hyundai Motor official said. Apple is said to be in talks with automakers, including Hyundai, to avoid the costs of developing battery technology and establishing production facilities. Hyundai Motor and sister comp

Industry Jan. 8, 2021

With a nationwide vaccination campaign scheduled for next month, South Korean manufacturers are looking ahead to the mass production of syringes. But challenges remain, as the government has yet to designate the type of syringes to be used. According to industry sources Thursday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency recently made phone calls to domestic syringe makers regarding their production capacity and the types of syringes they can manufacture. “Despite the phone call

Industry Jan. 7, 2021

South Korea’s No.3 conglomerate SK Group said Thursday it would acquire a 9.9 percent stake worth $1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in the US hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power to jointly take the initiative in Asian hydrogen markets. The group’s holding firm SK Holdings and a natural gas subsidiary SK E&S will invest 800 billion won each into Plug Power, which will make SK Group the largest stakeholder in the New York-based hydrogen company. SK Group is expected to finaliz

Industry Jan. 7, 2021

As batteries account for more than 40 percent of the cost of an electric vehicle’s parts, major automakers including Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen are making efforts to develop their own batteries. Such moves have stoked concerns that South Korean battery giants -- LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation -- might lose their clients in the long term. But just as automakers have invaded the field of battery manufacturing, local battery producers are slowly infiltrating the auto p

Industry Jan. 6, 2021

GS Caltex will introduce a next-generation charging station that offers drone delivery services in its debut at the world’s biggest tech show, the company said Wednesday. According to the South Korean refinery, at this year‘s Consumer Electronics Show set to kick off online Monday, the company will offer three videos that show how drones can deliver items, utilizing gas stations as logistics bases. The first video contains two drone delivery tests GS Caltex conducted together wi

Industry Jan. 6, 2021

South Korean game maker NCSoft and entertainment giant CJ ENM said Tuesday they will establish a new entertainment joint venture this year. According to the memorandum of understanding signed Tuesday, the joint venture will combine NCSoft’s advanced information technology and CJ ENM’s expertise in the entertainment business to create new content. Though the exact type of the new content the joint venture will create has not yet been unveiled, this is not the first time the compan

Industry Jan. 5, 2021

Hyundai Motor said Monday it has selected Samsung SDI as one of the final candidates to supply batteries for its electric vehicles to be rolled out in 2023. South Korea’s largest automaker is currently shopping for the third batch of batteries for its EVs to be assembled using its platform E-GMP. Designed by Hyundai Motor, E-GMP is a platform dedicated to EVs that allows the carmaker to load batteries under the car’s floor instead of engine bay. If selected, Samsung SDI, toge

Industry Jan. 4, 2021