The South Korean conglomerate is betting big on electric mobility. It has completed constructing its third factory for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The plant, located in Goed, Hungary, is set to begin commercial production during the second half of 2018.

With an annual production capacity to serve 50,000 electric vehicles initially, the company aims to improve customer service in Europe, while saving costs on logistics. 

The ceremony saw attendance of about 150 officials, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Samsung SDI President Jun Young-hyun, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Korean Ambassador to Hungary Yim Geun-hyeong.  

Samsung SDI’s former plasma display panel (PDP) plant has been transformed into a plant equipped with technology of Samsung SDI to produce high-power and high-efficiency EV batteries. With the Hungary plant, Samsung SDI has set up a global electric vehicle batteries production tripod with plants in Ulsan, South Korea and Xian, China. 

According to the company, the European market is leading the global EV space due to its environment-friendly policy.  This has led to the market for batteries expanding at a faster pace. 

“For the first time, state-of-the-art technology of Samsung SDI will be applied to batteries to be made in this plant in Hungary. Batteries are one of the most important parts supplied to global car makers. I expect the plant to contribute much to the growth of the European electric vehicle market,” Samsung SDI President Jun Young-hyun said. 

The company had earlier showcased its new line of energy storage systems (ESS) solutions at the Energy Storage Europe 2017, where it showcased P3 – a high-powered model, that’s designed to maintain high power for longer periods by using 78Ah high-power and high-energy density cells that increases capacity by 15 percent without changing the size of 68Ah battery adopted for previous models. In January 2017, the company had unveiled its new battery that promised driving range of up to 600 km and could fast charge EV in 20 minutes with a driving range of 500 km.

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