Samsung SDI builds new EV battery plant in Hungary

Samsung is betting big on electric mobility and has just finished building its third factory for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The new plant is located in Goed, Hungary and will commence commercial production during the second half of 2018.

The factory will initially have an annual production capacity to cater to 50,000 electric vehicles and the company has set up the plant in Europe to improve customer service in the region and to save on logistics.

The opening ceremony of the new plant was attended by 150 dignitaries, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Samsung SDI President Jun Young-hyun, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Korean Ambassador to Hungary Yim Geun-hyeong.

Samsung SDI earlier used this plant to make plasma display panels (PDP) plant. The plant has now been transformed into one that is equipped with technology to produce high-power and high-efficiency EV batteries. The Hungary plant is the third such plant that Samsung SDI now has for the production of EV batteries, in addition to plants in Ulsan, South Korea and Xian, China.

According to the company, the European market is set to lead in the global EV space due to its environment-friendly policy. Hence, the market for EV batteries in the region has been expanding at a faster pace.

Speaking at the opening of the new plant, Samsung SDI President Jun Young-hyun said “For the first time, state-of-the-art technology of Samsung SDI will be applied to batteries to be made in this plant in Hungary. Batteries are one of the most important parts supplied to global car makers. I expect the plant to contribute much to the growth of the European electric vehicle market”.

The company had earlier used the Energy Storage Europe 2017 event to showcase its new line of energy storage systems (ESS) solutions. At the event, it highlighted the P3 – a high-powered model that has the capability to maintain high power for longer periods by using 78Ah high-power and high-energy density cells. These cells increase capacity by 15 percent without changing the size of 68Ah battery adopted for previous models. In January this year, the company had debuted its new battery that has the capacity to deliver driving range of up to 600 km and could fast charge an EV in 20 minutes with a driving range of 500 km.