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S Korean electric vehicle battery firms settle trade dispute

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By MATTHEW DALY and TOM KRISHER

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Notice that they didn't state who LG stole those secrets from.

Did you read the article?

"The U.S. International Trade Commission decided in February that SK stole 22 trade secrets from LG Energy, and that SK should be barred from importing, making or selling batteries in the United States for 10 years."

SK was proposing to build a big battery plant in Georgia to build batteries for Volkswagen (or should that be Voltswagen, ^_^ ) and the upcoming electric Ford F-150. Had the ban been allowed to be instituted the plant would not have been built by SK and maybe would not be built at all, leaving VW and Ford in the lurch to find a new battery supplier on very short notice. The Executive Branch could have over ruled the ITC to allow SK to build the battery plant, but that would undermine its position on the sanctity of intellectual property. Thus the settlement comes at a very opportune time.

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Notice that they didn't state who LG stole those secrets from. But that's not the point being made here. South Korean companies attempts at corporate espionage are already expected, factored into R&D planning and to a certain extent, encouraged, to let them steal the "right" secrets. The last laugh is on the Korean companies though, when they (like in this case) start to compete among themselves like enemies rather than cooperate like Japanese companies.

Notice how you yourself also didn't state who LG stole it from? Perhaps you're confusing it with Chinese firms but Korean companies are leading in batteries at the moment.

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 Korean companies are leading in batteries at the moment.

For automotive applications the leaders are Panasonic and Tesla. However if you are talking seagoing applications then the state of the are are modular liquid cooled Li battery systems from Rolls Royce Power Systems, developed in conjunction with the Norwegian government and three shipping lines Color Line, Norled and Norwegian Coastal Administration Shipping Company.

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Nope, Panasonic is a goner. Look how no one else but Tesla touched Panasonic's battery, and Tesla, which was bound by the 10 year exclusivity agreement with Panasonic signed in 2009, started moving away from Panasonic in favor of LG and CATL batteries as soon as the exclusivity agreement ended in 2019.

Tesla only uses LG batteries on one top of the line model made in Shanghai for the simple reason their battery plant in Nevada cannot produce enough batteries to meet demand. US built Teslas only come with Panasonic batteries. Panasonic is really producing Tesla's technology. Their new 4680 battery is the state of the art today greatly reducing the amount of wiring in the car thus reducing production costs but manufacturing the batteries requires a higher degree of craftsmanship and quality control than current batteries.

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@Hillclimber

Notice that they didn't state who LG stole those secrets from.

LG got its lithium polymer battery tech from the Korean government 12 years ago, originally developed as a part of the Korean SLBM submarine program. SK got it from Korean government too.

when they (like in this case) start to compete among themselves like enemies rather than cooperate like Japanese companies.

When Korean battery companies are the top dogs of EV battery world, they fight amongst themselves.

"Leading" in sales due to undercutting competition

Korean batteries are the most expensive, yet everyone's lined up to get some. Why? They are the best in terms of safety, durability, and capacity.

@Desert Tortoise

For automotive applications the leaders are Panasonic and Tesla.

Nope, Panasonic is a goner. Look how no one else but Tesla touched Panasonic's battery, and Tesla, which was bound by the 10 year exclusivity agreement with Panasonic signed in 2009, started moving away from Panasonic in favor of LG and CATL batteries as soon as the exclusivity agreement ended in 2019.

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