SK Energy, South Korea’s top refiner will provide battery packs for future electric cars to be developed by country’s top automaker Hyundai-Kia.
SK Energy will provide batteries for the i10, an electric car Hyundai-Kia aim to launch at the end of 2011.
The electric i10 can run up to 99 miles (160 km) on a single charge range with a top speed of 81mph (130 km/h), SK Energy said.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors will soon test 30 units of electric cars for mass production later this year.
SK Energy has been selected as the main battery provider of Daimler AG’s Mitsubishi Fuso hybrid electric cars last year, as well as the lithium battery provider for local brand CT&T’s low-speed electric cars.
SK Energy is also participating in a U.S. government-led research program with the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to develop rechargeable batteries for electric cars.
SK Energy uses a lithium manganese oxide cathode material, mixing in NMC material for stabilization; a surface-modified graphite on the anode; a gel polymer electrolyte; and a ceramic-coated proprietary SK separator featuring low shrinkage and high heat resistance. SK cells have a specific energy density of around 140 Wh/kg.
