Battery technology is at risk of leakage

Concerns over technology leaks in battery industry, which is referred to as the “rice of the future industry,” following semiconductors, are intensifying. On Thursday, the industry and the relevant government authority announced that LG Energy Solution received a tough demand from General Motors, an American automotive manufacturing company, early this year.

It has been confirmed that the South Korean battery manufacturing company, which has forged a partnership with GM to establish three joint plants in the U.S. for electronic vehicle batteries, was demanded by GM during negotiations over the joint partnership, to provide confidential technology information, including experiment results, to the American company under the pretext of checking battery safety.

Ford, an American automobile manufacturer, which is currently pursuing a joint partnership with SK On, has also reportedly demanded SK to share technology information about battery energy density. The American company’s such request was revealed in the process of Ford’s confirm‎ing with the government of South Korea whether the relevant technology constitutes one of the national core technologies that are prohibited from divulgence. The similar thing happened with Samsung SDI, which was negotiating with Rivian, an American electric vehicle automaker, over a joint partnership that fell through when the U.S. automotive technology company coercively put forward a demand for technology sharing.

Conflicts over disclosure of technology information are likely to continue, as U.S. automotive companies strive to lower dependence on South Korean companies for battery supply and pursue the establishment of domestic supply chain of EV batteries. “There are concerns over technology leaks, which would eventually undermine competitiveness of South Korean battery companies by expediting the process for foreign automotive companies to build EV batteries at home,” said an industry source.” We need to revise the legal system to prevent technology leaks.”


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