Medicox-Iocell, Entry into the Customized Battery Market

"2029 Sales Plan of 136.2 Billion Won"

Executives from both companies are taking a commemorative photo at the technology briefing session. Sixth from the left is Hyun Kyung-seok, CEO of Medicox, and seventh is Albert Ju, CEO of Iocell. / Photo by Medicox

KOSDAQ-listed company Medicox announced on the 16th that it successfully concluded the "Customer Customized Secondary Battery Business Briefing" jointly held with the U.S. secondary battery specialist company EoCell.

The briefing was attended by executives from both companies, including Medicox CEO Hyun Kyung-seok, EoCell CEO Albert Zou, and General Manager Patrick Gray, as well as EoCell engineers, representatives from major battery companies, financial institutions, related industry stakeholders, and journalists. They shared an introduction of the joint venture and future business plans.

The joint venture to be established by the two companies plans to actively enter the so-called "battery cell foundry business," which involves contract manufacturing and supplying battery cells. They will manufacture and supply battery cells tailored to the needs of each customer. Furthermore, they aim to expand into manufacturing and supplying finished battery cells, as well as plant design and construction businesses. The joint venture plans to achieve annual sales of $103 million (approximately KRW 136.2 billion) by 2029.

Initially, the joint venture will prioritize the electrode foundry business in its early stages. The electrode process is one of the battery production processes, divided into slurry manufacturing, coating, drying, rolling, and slitting, and involves making the cathode and anode plates. Since it determines the battery’s performance, safety, lifespan, and quality, the technical difficulty is very high. Customers who receive electrodes from the joint venture will cut them into desired shapes and complete the battery cells through assembly and activation processes.

According to LG Energy Solution & ESP Analysis, the global electrode foundry market size is expected to expand from KRW 2.4 trillion this year to KRW 24.3 trillion by 2030.

EoCell was founded by talents who have experience in core design development at major domestic battery companies and supplying batteries to leading European automobile manufacturers. It possesses next-generation high-capacity, high-energy, and fast-charging battery technologies and currently has a development contract with Norwegian battery company Morrow Batteries, conducting battery cell model development domestically. Additionally, it is negotiating and promoting secondary battery development projects with various customers worldwide.

The joint venture plans to establish a 30-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery cell production facility and an R&D integrated laboratory by the end of 2025, aiming to become a specialized battery solutions company. By 2029, it plans to secure a 2.5 GWh battery cell production line and, for the initially planned electrode foundry business, secure a production line with a capacity of 7.5 GWh.

CEO Hyun Kyung-seok stated, "We will do our best to achieve the roadmap over six years from 2024 to 2029," adding, "This year, by establishing a 30 MWh battery cell foundry and a 0.5 GWh electrode foundry facility, we expect to achieve sales of about $8 million (approximately KRW 10 billion) starting from the second quarter of next year."