South Korean industrial conglomerate Hanwha Group said it planned to expand its plant automation division to target growth in the secondary battery segment, including batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS).
The company has targeted expanding revenues tenfold by 2030 at its Momentum automation engineering division which is focused on producing manufacturing equipment for rechargeable secondary batteries and components. It has targeted KRW3trn (US$2.3bn) from this segment, up from KRW300bn in 2022. Sales this year are projected to increase 33% to KRW400bn.
South Korea has three of the world’s top EV battery makers, LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI as well as smaller specialist manufacturers such as International Battery Technology.
Hanwa said it aims to complete development next year of the world’s largest kiln for production of cathodes for lithium ion batteries with mass output set to start in 2025. The company said it would develop manufacturing equipment for new materials such as silicon anodes and was also discussing linking up Momentum with Hanwha Aerospace to develop special batteries for the defence sector.
