Ecopro BM has established a collaboration framework to commercialise next-generation batteries. Ecopro BM said on Aug. 31 it held a kickoff meeting on Aug. 26 in Gyeonggi Province with related companies and research institutes to 추진 the government’s "Super Eul Project" and began full-scale activities. The meeting launched an "all-solid-state one team" spanning from raw materials to materials and cells.

The Super Eul Project is a government-backed research and development support programme to foster key materials, parts and equipment companies that will secure world-class technology and lead global supply chains. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy selected 5 companies, including Ecopro BM, as Super Eul companies earlier this month. All-solid-state batteries, a next-generation battery that replaces liquid electrolytes with solids to improve safety and energy density, are considered suitable for electric vehicles and humanoid robots.

Ecopro BM will receive Li2S, high-purity lithium sulfide, from raw-material suppliers. Based on that, it plans to implement solid-electrolyte technology by controlling multiple process variables, including crystallinity control, impurity removal and particle-size uniformity. If Ecopro BM, which leads the project, develops a high-performance solid electrolyte and supplies it to domestic battery cell makers, the cell makers will apply it to cells and conduct demonstration and verification work.

Research institutes and universities, including Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology and Hanyang University, are also participating in the project alongside industry. That means an all-solid-state one-team framework involving industry, academia and research has been formed. The government’s plan to build an integrated, full-cycle value chain from raw materials to materials and cells is expected to proceed without setbacks.

Ecopro BM has secured its own process technology in sulfide-based solid electrolytes, a key material for all-solid-state batteries. It is also operating a pilot plant with an annual capacity of 40 tons. It plans to share a development roadmap with domestic cell makers and strengthen cooperation, aiming for early commercialisation of sulfide-based all-solid-state batteries in 2027.

Hyunsoo Jung (정현수), head of future technology at Ecopro BM, said, "Based on success at the pilot stage, we will optimise mass-production processes to lower manufacturing costs." He added, "We will advance differentiated process technology to support cell makers’ commercialisation of all-solid-state batteries without disruption."