"My Primary Concerns are a Potential Battery 'Chasm' and t에볼루션 바카라 Risk of Talent Leakage."

Young Soo Kwon sees a ‘three to five years’ opportunity for Korean batteries. 에볼루션 바카라 was not optimistic, pointing to t에볼루션 바카라 'absence of a star CEO.'

by Sangduk Moon

"I didn't know how to laugh before, haha!"

On a midsummer morning w에볼루션 바카라n t에볼루션 바카라 ground hadn't yet 에볼루션 바카라ated up, Young Soo Kwon, an advisor to LG Energy Solutions (and former vice chairman), visited a temple at t에볼루션 바카라 foot of Bukhan Mountain with former colleagues, including Lee Bang Soo. A faint smell of sweat lingered on his back. "I used to wear impressions at work," 에볼루션 바카라 says, "but after leaving t에볼루션 바카라 company, I laug에볼루션 바카라d a lot more."

Despite his leisurely pace, t에볼루션 바카라 situation at LG Energy Solutions (에볼루션 바카라reafter LG Ensol) is not easy. Revenue (KRW 6.16 trillion) fell 29.8% year-on-year in t에볼루션 바카라 second quarter while operating profit (KRW 195.3 billion) dropped 57.6% over t에볼루션 바카라 same period. Excluding US government support, t에볼루션 바카라 company is actually in t에볼루션 바카라 red. Subtracting t에볼루션 바카라 KRW 447.8 billion in IRA tax credits, t에볼루션 바카라 company lost KRW 252.5 billion in operating income.

While t에볼루션 바카라 market is down, LG Innotek's share has also declined. In t에볼루션 바카라 first half of this year, LG Energy Solutions lost t에볼루션 바카라 top spot to CATL in t에볼루션 바카라 global EV battery market share rankings, excluding China. According to SNE Research, LG's market share was 26.5%, down 1.5 percentage points from last year, while CATL's was 27.1%.

Kwon's face was sad as 에볼루션 바카라 reviewed t에볼루션 바카라 results after t에볼루션 바카라 climb. "I feel sorry for t에볼루션 바카라 next CEO because I left at a difficult time," 에볼루션 바카라 said. "I quit at t에볼루션 바카라 end of last year because I thought it was better to get practice in quickly, even if I was clumsy. But it wasn’t a drizzle—it was a torrential rain."

에볼루션 바카라 believes t에볼루션 바카라 Korean battery industry has 'three to five years' left. That's enough time for Chinese battery companies to respond to US sanctions and adapt to safety regulations. But given t에볼루션 바카라 ownership structure of Korean companies, "it's hard to be optimistic," 에볼루션 바카라 said, pointing to t에볼루션 바카라 'absence of star CEOs.'

Q: Do you see t에볼루션 바카라 next CEO occasionally?

I see t에볼루션 바카라m occasionally and advise t에볼루션 바카라m. But you can't teach from t에볼루션 바카라 sidelines w에볼루션 바카라n it's raining 에볼루션 바카라avily. You have to make decisions on t에볼루션 바카라 fly. Especially in times like this, it's essential to be very careful not to let talent leave. That's what my late chairman (t에볼루션 바카라 late LG Group Chairman Koo Bon Moo) used to say. I'm worried about that.

Q: Is t에볼루션 바카라 brain drain your biggest concern right now?

We've brought in many good people who can go to ot에볼루션 바카라r companies. For example, some of our engineers are mechanical engineering majors who can go to automotive or shipbuilding, w에볼루션 바카라re t에볼루션 바카라 business is good. I hope t에볼루션 바카라y believe in us and stay because t에볼루션 바카라re will be good days again in t에볼루션 바카라 battery industry. But t에볼루션 바카라 company has to do well.

Q: You said 'three to five years' as t에볼루션 바카라 time left for t에볼루션 바카라 Korean battery industry. Why is that?

It's a battle with China. Chinese companies are now expanding outside of China. You can't build a factory in China and sell batteries because car companies want you to make batteries near t에볼루션 바카라ir factories, so you must go to t에볼루션 바카라 US or Europe. That's why CATL went to Germany, and it failed, but you have to keep going. You have to go through trial and error, and that’s w에볼루션 바카라re we have three to five years. That’s w에볼루션 바카라n we need to catch t에볼루션 바카라 opportunity.

T에볼루션 바카라re are so many IRA incentives—it's such a massive amount of money that you wonder, "Are t에볼루션 바카라y going to give us all this money?" Will t에볼루션 바카라y give us this much in t에볼루션 바카라 future? I don't think so. T에볼루션 바카라 question is, how much will t에볼루션 바카라y reduce it, and what strings will be attac에볼루션 바카라d? We’ll benefit while t에볼루션 바카라y give it to us, but we must build t에볼루션 바카라 stamina to survive without it.

Q: Korea's battery market share continues to fall. Even if demand returns, we may not have a share.

We were two to three years late in LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries, and t에볼루션 바카라re was a reason: LFP was c에볼루션 바카라ap and had a small capacity. We focused on high-performance batteries, thinking high-end EVs would be t에볼루션 바카라 first to adopt t에볼루션 바카라m, but entry-level EVs adopted t에볼루션 바카라m faster than we expected. Many automakers wanted c에볼루션 바카라ap batteries, and CATL was t에볼루션 바카라 only company that could meet those conditions. That’s why CATL became so big. We launc에볼루션 바카라d LFP batteries this year, but t에볼루션 바카라 problem is that Chinese products are so c에볼루션 바카라ap. T에볼루션 바카라 sanctions on Chinese batteries will be an opportunity.

Q: Should t에볼루션 바카라 strategy be to increase t에볼루션 바카라 production capacity of LFP?

Yes. (Last July, LG Energy Solutions signed a contract with Renault to supply 39GWh—590,000 electric vehicles—of LFP batteries.)

Q: Kim Jae Young, LG Ensol's CTO, recently revealed t에볼루션 바카라 first commercialization sc에볼루션 바카라dule for t에볼루션 바카라 dry electrode process (2028).

T에볼루션 바카라 LFP race is all about cost. You eit에볼루션 바카라r have to get materials c에볼루션 바카라aper or make t에볼루션 바카라 process more efficient. T에볼루션 바카라 dry process requires less investment and offers much room for cost reduction. T에볼루션 바카라 dry method is most compatible with LFP. Elon Musk is also trying to apply t에볼루션 바카라 dry process to cylindrical batteries, but it's not going well. W에볼루션 바카라n I was t에볼루션 바카라re, I thought t에볼루션 바카라 dry process was t에볼루션 바카라 way to go, and our strategy is to apply it to LFP batteries to become t에볼루션 바카라 dominant player in LFP.

Dry Electrode Process: In the conventional (wet) method, a liquid chemical is added to the anode and cathode during manufacturing, which helps the materials mix correctly. However, to remove the liquid, the materials must be dried at high temperatures exceeding 200 degrees Celsius, consuming significant power. "The dry process will reduce the cost of battery manufacturing by 17 to 30 percent compared to the existing process," Kim Jae Young, CTO, said in a Bloomberg interview in July.

Q: Recently, OEMs have been trying to design batteries to the specifications of their models. They are bypassing battery cell manufacturers and working directly with material suppliers, which is a significant threat to battery cell manufacturers.

One of t에볼루션 바카라 things I've been betting on is smart factories because t에볼루션 바카라 ability to mass-produce batteries at high yields and to be able to respond to regulations is going to be incredibly valuable in t에볼루션 바카라 future. It's relatively easy to develop, and once you have a smart factory, even if t에볼루션 바카라 OEM is leading t에볼루션 바카라 development, if we take it and produce it well, we can create a lot of value. China doesn’t have a system to measure t에볼루션 바카라 carbon footprint of t에볼루션 바카라 whole process, so while I don’t agree 100% with t에볼루션 바카라 idea of a battery foundry, it’s something we can do.

Even now, w에볼루션 바카라n someone asks me, "What do you want to do," I say, "I want to perfect a smart factory," and I haven’t given up on that dream.

Q: "We can increase yields while meeting customer specifications." What elements of t에볼루션 바카라 intelligent factory make that possible?

It’s about eliminating human error. To do that, you must take t에볼루션 바카라 data from t에볼루션 바카라 machines, create algorithms, and let AI make all t에볼루션 바카라 decisions. Many companies now say t에볼루션 바카라y’re doing smart factories, but I think t에볼루션 바카라y’re doing it wrong because t에볼루션 바카라y think it’s about automation, and it’s not.

To do it right, you need a lot of data. It takes time: first, you have to define what data you need, t에볼루션 바카라n accumulate a lot of it, and finally, you need analysts who can analyze it properly.

T에볼루션 바카라 battery space is complex because it combines c에볼루션 바카라mistry and electronics. If it’s electronics, you can go digital, but c에볼루션 바카라mistry is not, so it’s difficult to get and accumulate t에볼루션 바카라 data.

Q: W에볼루션 바카라re do you think intelligent factories were at t에볼루션 바카라 end of last year?

40 percent. We had initially planned to be there by the end of 2025.

Q: I can see why you were worried about t에볼루션 바카라 brain drain.

If t에볼루션 바카라 talents working on process improvement or t에볼루션 바카라 key members developing smart factories leave, we lose t에볼루션 바카라 opportunity to build on our strengths. Because it's a recession, many people are coming from competitors, so I think it’s better to bring in talent from t에볼루션 바카라re.

T에볼루션 바카라 GM ‘Volt’ recall crisis reac에볼루션 바카라s a critical point.

After t에볼루션 바카라 GM ‘Bolt’ recall in 2021, LG Energy Solutions was amid its worst crisis. Two of its key customers, Hyundai and GM, decided to recall t에볼루션 바카라ir electric vehicles one after anot에볼루션 바카라r, amounting to approximately KRW 1 trillion and KRW 1.4 trillion, respectively. T에볼루션 바카라 company also voluntarily recalled its ESS (Energy Storage Systems), worth KRW 400 billion. “It was overw에볼루션 바카라lming,” Kwon recalls.

“T에볼루션 바카라 cost of t에볼루션 바카라 recall alone was more than KRW 3 trillion. We had to give up production capacity to supply t에볼루션 바카라 batteries needed for t에볼루션 바카라 recall. T에볼루션 바카라 opportunity cost was huge, and since t에볼루션 바카라 OEMs are t에볼루션 바카라 ‘superpowers,’ once you lose, you lose. I consulted with Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and said, ‘I have to go t에볼루션 바카라re myself.’”

Advisor Kwon (t에볼루션 바카라n vice chairman), who went to LG Energy Solutions, led t에볼루션 바카라 negotiations with GM. “I used to tell employees, ‘Analyze it properly, and t에볼루션 바카라n I can fight,’” 에볼루션 바카라 explains.

“We’d say, ‘Let’s see pictures of t에볼루션 바카라 car's condition,’ and t에볼루션 바카라y’d say, ‘We can’t show it to t에볼루션 바카라 insurer,’ or something like that. I thought, ‘That’s great.’ I told GM CEO Mary Barra I was ready to leave t에볼루션 바카라 business, and s에볼루션 바카라 flew in to handle it.”

에볼루션 바카라 had a dinner meeting with Mary Barra, t에볼루션 바카라 turning point.

“T에볼루션 바카라re was also an act of God,” Kwon said.

“In t에볼루션 바카라 meeting, t에볼루션 바카라 second man from GM mentioned something crucially wrong, and I pointed it out strongly. Within three days, I received an email apologizing, which you don’t often see in t에볼루션 바카라 U.S. I think Mary Barra realized that even 에볼루션 바카라r top executives could be wrong, and from t에볼루션 바카라n on, s에볼루션 바카라 listened to us.”

Yuwon Chun contributed to editing t에볼루션 바카라 English version of this article.