[Exclusive] Greenergy Secures 10 Billion KRW Series A Funding... 'Battery Innovation' by Former Apple and Tesla Experts Pays Off

Raised 10 Billion KRW from KB Investment and Others... Cumulative Investment Approximately 14.5 Billion KRW
Developed Korea's Only Pouch-Type LTO Battery... Improved Drawbacks of Existing Secondary Batteries
7 Times Longer Lifespan, 3 Times Higher Output Performance... 'Thermal Runaway' Temperature Doubled to 400℃
CEO Bang Seong-yong Developed Electric Cars at Tesla... 'Dream Team' from Samsung and Hyundai Motors

Lithium titanate oxide (LTO) battery developed by Greenergy. Its lifespan and output performance are 7 times and 3 times higher, respectively, compared to lithium-ion batteries. The charging speed is 10 times faster.
[Photo by Greenergy]

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] Secondary battery startup Greenergy has secured 10 billion KRW in Series A funding. Greenergy is a company that developed lithium titanate oxide (LTO) batteries, overcoming the drawbacks of lithium-ion batteries. Founded by an electric vehicle engineer who previously worked at Apple and Tesla, the company has attracted industry attention. The company plans to use the funds raised to accelerate the development of all-solid-state batteries, considered the next generation of secondary batteries. It will also seek Series B funding worth 20 billion KRW in the second half of next year to expand production facilities.

According to industry sources on the 18th, Greenergy recently completed a Series A funding round worth 10 billion KRW. Earlier, the company opened its Series A investment round in April this year and began fundraising. Participants in this round included KB Investment, Hana Financial Investment, Welix Capital, and SL Investment. Including approximately 4.5 billion KRW secured through pre-Series A funding, the cumulative investment amount reaches about 14.5 billion KRW. This is considered a significant scale for a technology startup based on manufacturing.

7 Times Longer Lifespan, 10 Times Faster Charging Speed

Greenergy is the only company in Korea mass-producing pouch-type LTO batteries. LTO batteries replace graphite, used as the anode material in secondary batteries, with LTO, significantly improving lifespan and safety. Greenergy’s LTO battery, “Potere,” can be charged and discharged 7,000 to 10,000 times. Considering that conventional lithium-ion batteries have 1,000 to 2,000 charge-discharge cycles, this extends the lifespan nearly sevenfold. The output performance is 10C (Capacity), more than three times higher than typical secondary batteries (3C). The charging speed is about ten times faster.

Safety has also been addressed. Lithium-ion batteries experience a phenomenon called “thermal runaway,” where the battery temperature rapidly rises at 180?200°C. In electric vehicle fires, additional work is needed to cool the battery and prevent re-ignition, making extinguishing more difficult than in internal combustion engine vehicles. However, Potere starts thermal runaway at temperatures above 400°C. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries are vulnerable to external shocks, posing risks of explosion and other safety accidents, but LTO batteries have a chemical nature that makes the possibility of ignition close to “zero.”

Bang Sung-yong, CEO of Greenergy. CEO Bang is an electric vehicle expert who has worked in electric vehicle research and development (R&D) at global companies such as Hyundai Motor Company, Apple, and Tesla.
[Photo by Lee Jun-hyung]

Behind this technological prowess is a research team composed of veteran engineers. The founder, CEO Sungyong Bang, is a prime example. CEO Bang is an electric vehicle expert who worked at Hyundai Motor Company and global companies such as Apple and Tesla, leading electric vehicle research and development (R&D). He designed the battery pack cooling system for Tesla’s Model S. He also joined Apple’s electric vehicle project “Titan,” where he was responsible for battery pack design. Dr. Myungdong Cho, a former senior engineer of battery cells at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), leads the company’s secondary battery research institute. Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Jaeho Hwang and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Byunghoon Jung are industry experts who researched autonomous driving components and camera modules/motors at Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Electronics, respectively.

Accelerating Development of the ‘Dream Battery’

Greenergy plans to accelerate the development of all-solid-state batteries following the Series A investment. Known as the “dream battery,” all-solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid one between the cathode and anode materials. Although the technology barrier and development costs are high, they can simultaneously secure high output and safety. However, the industry expects it will take considerable time for the all-solid-state battery market to mature. CEO Bang explained, “Next-generation secondary batteries will inevitably be all-solid-state batteries, but commercialization is expected after 2030. Until then, products that overcome the limitations of existing secondary batteries, like LTO batteries, are needed.”

The company plans to raise 20 billion KRW in Series B funding in the second half of next year to expand production capacity. The company has secured facilities in Chungju, Chungbuk, capable of producing 40,000 LTO battery cells annually and began mass production in September this year. CEO Bang stated, “We plan to increase production capacity to 2 million cells by the first half of 2023. With LTO battery supply ramping up, sales next year are expected to exceed 7 billion KRW.”