Senior Executive Vice President Kim Dong-myung of LG Chem’s EV Battery Business, shakes hands with Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid Motors after they signed a deal in which LG Chem will supply cylindrical batteries to Lucid Motors on Feb. 26. (Photos: LG Chem)

LG Chem will supply cylindrical batteries to Lucid Motors, a U.S. deluxe electric vehicle maker. The company, which has proven its technological prowess by supplying cylindrical batteries to U.S. EV maker Tesla, has struck deals to supply cylindrical batteries with other EV newcomers.

LG Chem will supply cylindrical, next-generation batteries to “Lucid Air,” a standard model of Lucid Motor from the second half of 2020 through 2023, the company said on Feb. 25.

Details, including supply size and the value of the contract, were not disclosed.

But global automobile industry sources said even though the size of battery supplies to the luxury EV maker is not huge, it takes on symbolic significance in the perspective of an expanding cylindrical battery market.

Lucid Motor is an EV newcomer that drew global attention in 2018 when the company attracted a $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund.

An image of “Lucid Air,” the first EV model to be mass produced by Lucid Motors.

The luxury automaker will mass produce its first model “Lucid Air” in the second half of the year.

Lucid Motor is expected to reveal sales goal of the first model in April. Lucid Air will be a luxury sedan, capable of reaching up to 100 km per hour in only 2.5 minutes in a stationary state and running 643 km per charge.

LG Chem struck an initial deal to exclusively supply a cylindrical battery to Lucid Air, and negotiations are known to be under way to further supply batteries to Lucid Motors’ specialty models.

The next-generation, cylindrical battery, to be supplied to Lucid Motors is the “21700” model.

The cylindrical 21700 battery model, known to be now supplied to Tesla, stands at 21 mm in diameter and 70 mm in height. The latest cylindrical battery is noted for a 50 percent improvement in capacity and souped-up functionality compared to the conventional model, measuring 18 mm in diameter and 65 mm in height.

The commercialization of the 21700 model will allow the composition of fewer batteries to raise capacity to a given level than the conventional “18650” model. Lucid Motors has a format in which EVs are to be outfitted with about 1,000 small-sized cylindrical batteries.

An LG Chem official said a steady number of EV makers producing EVs, outfitted with cylindrical batteries, is exploring ways of stabilizing “21700” model supplies.

In particular, the “21700” model has adopted the “NCM811” technology, developed by LG Chem in 2018.

The NCM811 technology is referred to one with configuration of composing of nickel, cobalt and manganese, the core materials of a positive cathode, at a ratio of 80 percent, 10 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

The higher concentration in nickel in making the positive cathode could maximize energy density of each battery cell, but it needs to be guaranteed by advanced technology since nickel itself could cause heat, incurring safety problems.

President Kim Jong-hyun of Energy Solution Business at LG Chem said LG Chem aims to be a global No.1 company in the EV battery segment down the road by aggressively exploring the cylindrical EV battery market, which is growing fast.