SK Innovation will start the world’s first commercial production of mid- and large-sized pouch-type NCM 811 batteries that would allow a driving range of up to 500 kilometers for electric vehicles, the company said Thursday.

NCM 811’s letters and number stand for the chemicals and proportions of the chemicals that make up the battery. The chemicals are nickel, cobalt and manganese.

Starting in December this year, the new batteries will be supplied for the production of energy storage systems. For EVs, the company will begin supplying the batteries from the third quarter of 2018, it said. 

The batteries will be manufactured at SK Innovation’s battery production facilities in Seosan, where the company is constructing its fifth and sixth battery production lines to secure a total 3.9 gigawatt hours of battery production capacity.

SK Innovation’s NCM 811 batteries can extend the driving range of EVs by 100 kilometers compared to other batteries that are currently in the market, the company said.

“NCC 811 batteries will help extend the driving range of EVs up to 500 kilometers. The company will also develop new batteries that can provide a range of more than 700 kilometers by 2020,” said Lee Jon-ha, principal researcher of the Battery R&D Center.

After succeeding in the commercial production of NCM 622 batteries, SK Innovation invested resources to develop NCM 811 batteries to meet growing demand in the global EV market, it said.

According to SNE Research, the size of the global battery market is expected to reach 25 GWh in 2016 and 300 to 1,000 GWh in 2025.

SK Innovation currently plans to increase its annual production of batteries to 10 gigawatt hours by 2020, to secure 30 percent of market share in global markets for EV batteries by 2025.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)