By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) Apr 20 -- South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI will collaborate with two Chinese companies to develop new stacking equipment used in battery production, The Elec reported on April 18.

The two Chinese companies are forming offices in South Korea to respond to client Samsung SDI. Samsung SDI already had a pilot line for the new production process at its factory in northern China’s Tianjin, with the stacking equipment supplied by Shenzhen Yinghe Tech (深圳赢合).

Two other South Korean companies were also bidding for the project but lost out to their Chinese competitors, sources told The Elec.

The stacking method is expected to increase energy density by over 10%, and has already been used by Samsung SDI in the manufacture of Gen 5 batteries for electric cars.

Making small batteries with the stacking method will allow Samsung SDI to better compete with rivals such as LG Energy Solution, ATL and BYD to win orders from Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, according to The Elec.

Samsung SDI is now planning to apply the method to small batteries used in smartphones, tablets, notebooks and other consumer electronics devices, hence the project with the two Chinese companies.