Samsung, Bosch Team Up on Lithium Ion Battery Plant
SB LiMotive, the Bosch and Samsung joint venture, has announced the commencement of construction of a 28,000 square meter plant in South Korea that will start commercial production of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid cars by 2011 and electric vehicles by 2012. SB LiMotive also revealed that the venture is expected to create around 1,000 job opportunities over the next few years.
SB LiMotive will be supplying lithium-ion battery cells to BMW, which is the first customer for the joint venture since its inception in 2008. The German automaker will install the battery cells in its first electric car, which is currently being developed as part of the “Megacity Vehicle” project. The zero-emission vehicles will go into series production in the first half of the next decade.
“The start of construction work on the lithium-ion battery production plant in South Korea is a significant positive development for us and complements our greater vision of eventually introducing electrically-powered cars in mainstream markets, both globally and in the Middle East. Increasing urbanization and the growing population in major cities across the region make hybrid automobiles – and ultimately electric cars – a perfect solution to help control the rising energy consumption,” said Volker Bischoff, General Manager, Bosch Middle East FZE
“To bring the electric car in the market quickly, production costs must be reduced by half to two-thirds. Equally important is for us to overcome the technological challenges to powertrain electrification. Bosch’s hybrid technology stands at the middle ground, providing a more efficient and cost-effective solution compared with conventional internal-combustion engines, while paving the way for introducing electrically-powered cars eventually,” he added.
Bosch predicts that electric cars will reach a sales volume of 500,000 worldwide by 2015, and that they will make a noticeable presence in major thoroughfares by 2020.
Category: Battery News
