Published on July 12th, 2015 | by James Ayre July 12th, 2015 by James Ayre Samsung SDI and LG Chem are near the top of the lithium-ion battery industry with regard to business strategy and execution, according to a new report from Navigant Research. The report — titled Navigant Research Leaderboard Report: Li-Ion Grid Storage — explores the business practices, strengths, and weaknesses of 15 of the top lithium-ion battery manufacturers in the world. Factors analyzed include: sales, marketing, “vision,” go-to-market strategy, partnerships, production strategy, technology, geographic reach, distribution networks, product performance, product quality + reliability, product portfolio, pricing, and staying power. As lithium-ion battery technologies have continued to improve over recent years (pricing, efficiency, density, etc), they have emerged as leaders in the energy storage marketplace. Given the fast rate of growth and change, the future is perhaps a bit difficult to predict — hence the value of in-depth analyses. Samsng SDI lithium-ion batteries at a Younicos facility in Berlin, Germany. “LG Chem and Samsung SDI, both based in South Korea, have market-leading businesses for the electric vehicle (EV) and consumer electronics markets, which has created a foundation allowing for economies of scale through manufacturing,” stated Anissa Dehamna, principle research analyst with Navigant Research. “Both companies have positioned themselves as global manufacturers and can offer consistently low prices for quality Li-ion cells.” Despite the apparent dominance of the list by large firms, the report alludes to the fact that niches certainly appear to be there that could be filled by more-specialized companies. After all, the requirements of different energy storage applications can likely be met better by the use of specialized products. Images by Navigant Research and Zachary Shahan | EV Obsession | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0) Tags: Amperax, BYD, Electrovaya, Hitachi, johnson controls, Kokam, Leclanche, LG, LG Chem, Lishen, Microvast, panasonic, Saft, samsung, Samsung SDI, SONY, toshiba James Ayre James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.
According to a report by Navigant Research Samsung and LG Chem are leaders in the lithium-ion battery industry. The two companies have been working together for several years on developing new batteries that can be used in electric cars or other battery-powered devices.