Samsung Electronics focused on solid-state batteries as the next generation of lithium-ion batteries at an open forum on related technologies, it said Friday.

The South Korean tech titan held the event to keep track of the latest progress in development of the new batteries and share industry cases. The forum held at Seoul National University was attended by renowned experts, including professor Lee Se-hee of the University of Colorado and Yukinari Kotani, executive vice president of the Toyota Research Institute.

Solid-state batteries are expected to replace the lithium-ion batteries currently used in most smartphones and electric cars. As the batteries are made of solid electrolytes instead of liquid electrolytes, they have a significantly lower risk of ignition or explosion. A battery usually explodes when the liquid inside flows out and comes into contact with air or water outside.

Samsung Electronics’ affiliate Samsung SDI and other battery makers are conducting research and development projects on the new batteries.

“High interfacial resistance, a well-known problem of solid-state batteries, could be addressed with new coating technologies,” said Lee. “Process technologies for mass production will be a major issue with solid-state batteries.”

Samsung has been hosting open forums on future technologies since last year, particularly on artificial intelligence and quantum dot technologies.

Its second forum on AI will be held on Sept. 12 and 13.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)