Ford poached the vice president of Samsung SDI to develop advanced batteries for electric vehicles

CTOnews.com, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) according to TheElec, American auto giant Ford has hired Kim Sung-Hoon, a former vice president of Samsung SDI, to develop power batteries for electric vehicles.

According to sources, he was appointed as Ford's chief battery engineer. This is also the first time Ford has set up a leadership post in the battery field.

According to industry analysts, Ford has begun to seriously develop its own batteries. CTOnews.com inquiry found that Blue Oval SK, Ford's battery joint venture with SK On, will build a plant in Tennessee and will set up a separate pilot line and facilities for battery research and development.

Prior to joining Ford, he was mainly responsible for the development of Samsung SDI large batteries and their production lines. He was promoted to Samsung SDI executive in 2017 and held a number of key positions in manufacturing technology development, and he is responsible for developing production processes and applying them to practical areas.

Foreign media believe that Kim Sung-Hoon may be committed to improving the energy density of BlueOval SK batteries. BlueOval SK is a joint venture between Ford and SK Innovation, another South Korean battery manufacturer.

Ford's previous electric cars mainly used soft-pack batteries, but hiring Kim Sung-Hoon indicated that they might use more types of batteries, as Samsung SDI had previously focused on square batteries, and Ford had previously partnered with Ningde Times to set up a battery joint venture to produce such products.