JEJUDO ISLAND -- Samsung SDI, the nation’s leading electric vehicle battery cell maker, showcased its high-efficiency and high-density EV battery cell-making technologies at the international expo that kicked off on Jejudo Island on Friday.

Samsung SDI, which joined the event for the first time this year, set up a booth to display its latest EV battery technology and electric vehicle business ecosystem including cells, modules, packs and battery-powered cars.

“We expect visitors at the booth to get a better understanding of the future of electric cars and our unique and innovative products,” a Samsung SDI’s spokesperson said. 

BMW’s compact electric car i3, powered by Samsung SDI’s 60 ampere-hour cells, is displayed at the entrance of Samsung’s booth. The company is also exhibiting its diverse battery cells used for green cars. This includes the 60-Ah and 94-Ah cells for electric vehicles; 26-Ah and 28-Ah cells for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; 5.2-Ah and 5.9-Ah cells for hybrid electric vehicles; and the 11-Ah Hi-cap for low voltage systems.

Electric cars are mainly divided into pure electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Pure electric vehicles such as the BMW i3 runs only on electricity, while hybrid electric vehicles run jointly on internal combustion engines and electric motors. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles work in a similar way to the hybrid type but can be recharged with an external source of electric power.

Electric and hybrid cars also require different capacities. While electric vehicle batteries need high-energy density as the car only runs on electric motors, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle batteries need high capacities as hybrid cars use internal combustion engines as their main power source and use electric motors for low speeds.

As the global electric vehicle market and governments’ support are moving toward plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, the Korean electric vehicle battery maker has been keeping pace with this shift.

“The company is revamping the business and product portfolio in line with changing global demand for electric vehicles,” the company official said.

By Shin Ji-hye
(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)