Will the cold soon stop scaring electric cars? As you probably know battery performance decreases with decreasing temperaturebut technology is evolving, and in the future, range and charging speed will fluctuate less depending on weather conditions.

The 2024 edition of Interbattery, an industry trade show recently held in Seoul, South Korea, provided an interesting overview of the EV battery industry and the progress made during the month. Among the most interesting innovations presented are the new LFP batteries from SK On, the company that supplies batteries for Ford, Volkswagen and Hyundai.

No more fighting in the snow with an electric car?

An LFP battery placed at -20 degrees Celsius loses an average of 70% of its capacity. SK We introduced an LFP battery called “Winter Pro” in Seoul, whose negative payload was improved by 16%. The company also introduced another LFP battery that has a 19% increase in energy density and charges faster than the one released three years ago. It now takes 15 minutes to go from 20 to 80 percent instead of 18. According to Youngmoon Riew, vice president of business planning, SK On is already negotiating with several manufacturers to supply this new LFP battery at the same time. Battery Winter Pro.
Going back to this new Winter Pro battery, let’s just say it came at the right time, at least in the media, right after the recent cold snaps in the United States. Apparently, this led to some unusual scenes that were the work of electric naysayers, including endless lines from Teslas in Chicago waiting for hours at Superchargers because the vehicles were taking longer than they needed to. At the same time, China has also been hit by a severe cold snap, with similar images circulating around the world of drivers being forced to push their electric cars for miles after the sudden and rapid loss of power due to the climatic conditions.

Samsung focuses on a durable battery

While SK On focused its efforts on lithium iron phosphate to primarily sell low-cost but efficient batteries, Samsung SDI chose a different strategy. The Korean company, which is already working with Stellantis and General Motors to build Gigafactories in the United States, is focusing on solid-state batteries.
Yuho Choi, CEO of Samsung SDI, is confident: “This is a generational leap necessary to accelerate the spread of electric vehicles. Lithium-ion battery technology is almost mature, and the improvements we will see in this field over the next few years will be few and far between..
That’s why Samsung wants to accelerate the development of solid-state batteries and provide its customers with batteries that represent much higher energy density and much faster charging speed. The goal is mass production of this type of battery from 2027.

Samsung SDI aims to offer batteries that can be charged in 9 minutes from 2026 and can reach a lifetime of 20 years.