▲The first day of the event, the place was packed with visitors

Government emphasizes Trumpism, Chasm, and supply chain-centered response capabilities
LG Ensol, Samsung SDI, Ecopro, major battery companies all mobilized
“When looking far ahead, escaping the chasm, considering Chinese competition and diversification”

As the electric vehicle and battery-related industries suffered a slump, the domestic battery big three had poor performances last year. However, Korean companies preparing for the future of electrification are taking strong steps. At InterBattery, Korea's largest battery exhibition, market-leading companies boasting cutting-edge technologies gathered in one place, filling the entire COEX hall.

'InterBattery 2025', Korea's largest battery-related exhibition with participation from domestic and foreign battery companies, opened on the 5th at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul.

This exhibition, held in the entire COEX building, was filled with participation from domestic and international battery-related small and medium-sized companies, and saw the largest participation ever, with 388 companies and 2,330 booths, a 20% increase from the previous year.

The opening ceremony was attended by key government officials and corporate representatives, including Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun, National Assemblyman Lee Cheol-gyu (Chairman of the National Assembly’s Industry, Energy and Social Affairs Committee), National Assemblyman Shin Young-dae (Co-chairman of the Secondary Battery Forum), Kim Jong-min (Committee Member of the Industry, Energy and Social Affairs Committee), LG Energy Solution President Kim Dong-myeong, Samsung SDI President Choi Joo-sun, LS Electric Chairman Koo Ja-gyun, Lotte Chemical Group CEO Lee Young-joon, EcoPro BM CEO Choi Moon-ho, and POSCO Future M CEO Eom Ki-cheon.

In his opening remarks that day, Kim Dong-myung, Chairman of the Korea Battery Industry Association (President of LG Energy Solution), said, “Compared to last year, 688 companies, a 20% increase, have filled the entire COEX hall,” and “Among them, 174 companies are foreign companies, accounting for a quarter of the total, which allows us to confirm the status and current status of the Korean battery industry.”

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▲Opening ceremony

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun said, “The government will respond with a focus on Trump 2.0, Chasm, and the supply chain to restore the growth of the battery industry.”“A joint public-private battery delegation is visiting major investment regions in the U.S. and conducting outreach,” he said.

In addition, the government announced that it is planning support measures such as expanding electric vehicle tax benefits and expanding the supply of chargers to overcome the slump in response to the prolonged electric vehicle chasm. It also said that it will expand ESS production facility capacity to 110 gigawatt-hours by 2038, which is 15 times the existing capacity.

After the opening ceremony, key guests and government officials toured the exhibition. Starting with the first booth of JR Energy Solutions, they visited the booths of LG Chem, Lotte (chemicals, energy materials, infracell), LG Energy Solutions, Samsung SDI, SK On, POSCO, Korea Zinc, Ecopro, LS Group, L&F, and Encam in that order to inspect domestic battery technology.

▲Minister Ahn Deok-geun and other key guests are viewing the booth.

Meanwhile, various battery-related conferences were held and were packed with visitors. At the 'The Battery Conference' held on the same day, executives from LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On appeared and introduced the battery market outlook and technological innovation.

Jeong Kyung-hwan, managing director of LG Energy Solution, emphasized, “In the long term, we will escape from the electric vehicle chasm, and the secondary battery market is growing at a high rate of 20% per year, which is not a small growth rate for the industry.” He also predicted the bright and dark future of the battery industry, saying, “We must survive cost competition in the global market due to oversupply in China, and it is also important to respond to diversifying customer demands.”