From competition to collaboration: Hyundai, Samsung partner to develop battery for robots
Chaebol groups set aside rivalry to power future of robotics
Hyundai Motor and Samsung have joined hands to develop high-performance batteries for robots as Korea's two leading conglomerates look to build upon their electric vehicle battery alliance and expand the robotics industry together.
According to Hyundai Motor Company, Kia and Samsung SDI on Tuesday, the automakers and the battery maker signed a memorandum of understanding on the co-development of robot-dedicated batteries at Hyundai Motor Group's Uiwang R&D Center in Gyeonggi Province on Monday.
The companies said the cooperation was based on the common goal of crafting robot-optimized batteries by combining each side's resources and expertise and loading the batteries onto various service robots.
As most robot sectors use smaller batteries produced for power tools or light electric vehicles at the moment, Hyundai and Samsung noted that robots lack the space for the existing batteries due to their complex and irregular structures, and the small cells that fit in the robots have less output.
According to the memorandum, the key objective of the collaboration is to develop robot-dedicated high-performance batteries optimized for robots' limited space with increased energy density to bolster output and usage time.
Under the partnership, Samsung SDI will develop high-capacity materials and push for optimized battery design to enhance efficiency while Hyundai Motor will handle the application and evaluation of newly developed batteries in robots.
'By combining the robotics technology of Robotics LAB and Samsung SDI's battery technology, we expect to strengthen the stable delivery of battery in the long term and supply robots that have a competitive edge in price through the expansion of the market,' said Hyun Dong-jin, vice president of Robotics LAB at Hyundai Motor and Kia.
The two sides will collaborate on marketing efforts to expand the robot market. For starters, Hyundai Motor's delivery service robots -- DAL-e and MobED -- will be on display at Samsung SDI's exhibition booth at InterBattery 2025, held at Coex in Seoul from March 5 to 7. According to the companies, visitors will be able to see the robots' performances and the growth potential of the robotics market.
'Through this collaboration, we will introduce differentiated technologies and best-quality products to the battery market for robots,' said Cho Han-jae, executive vice president at Samsung SDI.
Hyundai and Samsung began exploring ways to work together in the EV battery field in 2020 after Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited each other's facilities to discuss their partnership.
The chaebol groups inked their first EV battery supply contract in 2023. Under the agreement, Samsung SDI said it would supply batteries produced at its Hungary plant for Hyundai EVs made in Europe from 2026 through 2032. The exact size of the deal was not disclosed.
The latest linkup between Hyundai and Samsung also aims to foster the robotics industry, with their heavily invested robotics subsidiaries striving to secure the lead in the global robot market, particularly in the humanoid robot sector.
Hyundai Motor Group took over US-based Boston Dynamics at the price of $880 million in 2021. Samsung Electronics announced the acquisition of additional shares in Rainbow Robotics to increase its stake from 14.7 percent to 35 percent at the end of last year with a total investment of about 350 billion won ($245 million).
According to Goldman Sachs' report, the global market for humanoid robots is expected to reach $38 billion by 2035 on the back of rapidly developing artificial intelligence technologies such as robotic large language models.
'(Hyundai and Samsung) are hoping to get what they lack through this collaboration,' said a robot industry insider who wished to remain anonymous.
'Samsung SDI's battery technology could fulfill the battery needs of Boston Dynamics while Hyundai Motor's battery testing and application on their robots could help the technological advancement of Rainbow Robotics. So it seems like a win-win because they both want to commercialize their humanoid robots.'
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