▲ Visitors look around Samsung SDI's solid-state battery lineup at InterBattery 2026, a specialized battery industry exhibition held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on March 11.
The government and the battery industry are embarking on technology development centered on sodium and solid-state batteries to reclaim market leadership handed over to China.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the "Battery Industry Technology Roadmap" today (the 22nd) at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, with the attendance of three major battery manufacturers—LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On—along with materials companies such as POSCO Future M, L&F, and EcoPro BM.
As Chinese companies expanded their global market share with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries leveraging price competitiveness, the strategy is to foster next-generation technologies such as sodium and solid-state batteries.
First, the government will intensively invest its budget in the commercialization of sodium batteries.
The goal is to develop a 160Wh/kg class battery next year and complete the development of a 220Wh/kg class by 2030 to begin full-scale commercialization.
For solid-state batteries, the plan is to release the world's first prototype next year and achieve full-scale commercialization by 2030.
Sodium batteries are cheaper than lithium and carry fewer supply chain risks.
Solid-state batteries boast high energy density and safety as their key advantages.
To this end, the government agreed to establish a new research and development (R&D) project worth approximately 400 billion KRW from next year through 2031, while the private sector agreed to execute approximately 8 trillion KRW in R&D and facility investments by 2030.
In addition, to prevent overlapping investments, a cooperative environment will be fostered among the three battery companies, and material-to-cell collaboration projects will be promoted to connect developed materials with commercialization.
Lee Min-woo, head of the Industrial Growth Policy Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "To respond to the price-driven restructuring of the global market and increasing supply chain uncertainties, the public and private sectors must become one team and pursue a strategy of selection and concentration." He added, "The government will provide all-out support through large-scale R&D backing and institutional incentives so that K-batteries can decisively recapture leadership in the global market."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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