Hyundai Motor Accelerates Solid-State Battery Production Development by Recruiting Battery Talent

Hyundai Motor Recruiting Experienced Professionals in All-Solid-State Battery Production Technology
Expanding Talent Acquisition in Various Battery Roles from Material Development, Cell Design to Production Process Technology
Technology Internalization... Exploring Feasibility of All-Solid-State Battery Production

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Hyundai Motor Company is preparing for the electric vehicle era by expanding recruitment of next-generation battery talent. Hyundai has set a strategy to secure battery production technology by recruiting R&D positions for manufacturing processes of all-solid-state batteries, known as the "dream battery," in addition to developing core new battery materials and battery cell design.

According to the automotive industry on the 28th, Hyundai is currently recruiting experienced professionals for plant technology R&D responsible for developing all-solid-state battery production technology. The workplace is the Uiwang Research Center, and the duties include developing new technologies for all-solid-state battery cells, modules, and packs, as well as designing manufacturing processes, methods, and equipment, evaluating battery quality and safety technologies, and developing manufacturing processes and quality inspection technologies for materials and components.

Hyundai has long been promoting in-house battery development to prepare for the electric vehicle era. Until about 10 years ago, the battery research organization consisted of only one team, but it has now been upgraded to the Battery Research and Development Office, operating with four teams, and the number of researchers has nearly doubled in the past 2 to 3 years.

Hyundai is researching not only core battery material development and cell design but also technological innovation in battery manufacturing processes. Among them, the Uiwang Research Center is equipped with a battery production test line and is dedicated to researching next-generation battery manufacturing process technologies.

Notably, this recruitment specifically targets next-generation batteries as all-solid-state batteries and is focused on hiring talent in the process field. This has led to interpretations that Hyundai is exploring the possibility of all-solid-state battery production through internalization of production technology. The main topic of interest during the meeting between Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong in May was also the all-solid-state battery.

All-solid-state batteries, considered alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, have no risk of fire or explosion and can reduce size to about half of existing batteries, making them next-generation batteries. They are called the dream battery because reducing battery volume decreases vehicle weight and allows driving over 700 km on a single charge.

Automakers who recognized the importance of all-solid-state batteries in the electric vehicle era have early on engaged in direct development and production. Among them, Toyota, Hyundai’s direct competitor, is leading the technology in this field with the most aggressive investment. Currently, Toyota holds about 40% of the world’s patents related to all-solid-state batteries and plans to commercialize all-solid-state batteries in 2022 through a joint venture established with Panasonic.

An industry insider said, "Recently, leading global automakers have mentioned battery internalization, indicating that Hyundai’s concerns about battery technology will deepen," adding, "It appears to be a move to prepare from various angles, including developing production process technology, ahead of the full-scale electric vehicle era."