Big Boss Samsung Meets The CEO Of BMW, Wants To Make EV Battery More Unharveled?

The meeting between Lee Jae-Yong and Oliver Zipse (photo: dock. Samsung Electronics)

JAKARTA - To strengthen cooperation in developing Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries, Samsung Electronics boss Lee Jae-Yong and BMW CEO Oliver Zipse met again last week.

The two met at the BMW Driving Center on Yeongjong Island, Incheon, South Korea along with other executives.

During the meeting, they agreed to facilitate each other in collaboration and expand the use of the Samsung SDI battery in BMW EVs. This is the second time the two have met since Lee's business trip to Europe last July.

I am delighted to work with the BMW Group. Let's improve our future partnership too," Lee said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Zipse emphasized how important Samsung's role is in the automotive industry. Prior to the business meeting, the two leaders participated in the handover ceremony of the 10 BMW New i7s, the first flagship EV sedan, to the CEO of Samsung affiliates.

CEO Samsung SDI Choi Yoon-ho will use the first New i7. The owner of the other nine cars has not been decided yet," said an official from Samsung Electronics.

New i7 is packed with a Generation 5 Samsung battery, with an increase in nickel percentage in cathodes to more than 88 percent. This is to increase car energy density and overall travel distance, compared to previous battery cells.

Samsung and BMW started partnering in 2009, and then in 2013 they presented i3, BMW's first EV followed by i8, iX and i4 all packed with Samsung SDI high-performance lithium-ion batteries. Both iX and i4 installed Generation 5 batteries.

Then in 2014, the two strengthened their partnership with a commitment to expand the supply of battery cells and foreign businesses, as well as develop new battery materials.

Five years later, Samsung SDI signed another deal with BMW to supply US$3.05 billion worth of EV batteries for the next 10 years.

Cited from the Korea Herald, Tuesday, December 20, the current battery giant has tripled its number, a larger scale than expected as it is driven by the growing EV market.