November 25, 2024

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LG Energy Solution's battery plant in the southwestern city of Wroclaw, Poland (LGES)

LG Energy Solution said Friday that it has signed an agreement with Impact Clean Power Technology, a leading Polish battery systems manufacturer, ramping up its foray into the European market for commercial electric vehicles.

ICPT, established in 2005, operates the GigafactoryX near Warsaw, which manufactures and assembles advanced battery systems for larger EVs such as electric buses and trucks.

Under the agreement, the Korean battery giant will supply 200,000 nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery modules to ICPT over three years starting next year. The modules will be manufactured at its plant in the southwestern city of Wroclaw.

The amount supplied can power about 3,000 commercial EVs.

ICPT will then assemble the supplied NCM battery modules into battery packs for delivery to Solaris Bus & Coach, a Polish manufacturer of public transport vehicles with top market share in the European electric bus market.

The commercial EV market is garnering attention as a highly profitable sector as the amount of batteries needed to power them is around 11 times more than general EVs.

As electric trucks and buses need to be able to cover long distances and operate under unfavorable weather conditions, batteries for such vehicles require more advanced technologies to withstand more than 10 times the energy voltage of conventional EVs.

“With the latest deal with ICPT, we have once again proven our advanced battery technology in the burgeoning European commercial EV market. Going forward, we will continue to deliver world-class customer value,” said Hong Seung-taek, head of LG Energy Solution's off-the-shelf department.

“Through a partnership with LGES, we will be able to offer more advanced products and systems, securing a competitive edge in the commercial EV market which is known to have high entry barriers," said Bartlomiej Kras, vice president of the ICPT board.

By Song Jung-hyun (junghyun792@heraldcorp.com)