Seeking diversification breakthrough Samsung SDI seeks to enter the battery market for humanoid robots and automation with Siasun Robot & Automation.

Samsung SDI is currently in talks with the multipurpose humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation manufacturer to collaborate on battery supply. The company is seeking diversified sources of income to mitigate the impact of US tariffs and weak global demand for electric vehicles. The South Korean battery manufacturer reported a higher-than-expected operating loss in the third quarter, attributing it to tariffs and declining demand for electric vehicles (especially in North America). However, Kim Jong Sung, the Executive in charge of planning and management, stated in a conference call that the company's earnings in the fourth quarter would "significantly improve," mainly due to the company's growing energy storage system business in the US, the recovery of demand for electric vehicles in Europe, and new opportunities in Siasun Robot & Automation technology, artificial intelligence, and other industries. Strategic marketing specialist Jong-sun Park stated that the company has started supplying batteries to multiple humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation manufacturers and is exploring potential collaborations with several other companies. "The internal battery installation space in humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation is very limited, so the battery must have both high power and durability to support movement," Jong-sun Park said. "Several customers have adopted our cylindrical batteries, which have demonstrated high power and large capacity performance in the power tool market." Following the investor conference call, Samsung SDI's stock price surged up to 12% in Seoul trading, reaching its highest level since November 5th, recovering from previous losses. Jong-sun Park stated that the global market size of humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation is expected to grow from around 20,000 units this year to over 600,000 units by 2030. According to Cho Yong-hui, the specialist in energy storage systems business at the company, Samsung SDI has also been redirecting some of its electric vehicle battery production lines towards energy storage system production, targeting an annual capacity of 30 gigawatt hours by the end of next year. Cho Yong-hui dismissed concerns about potential oversupply, stating that the US market size for energy storage systems is expected to grow from around 80 gigawatt hours currently to 130 gigawatt hours by 2030, but the current domestic capacity can only meet about 30% of the demand. Cho Yong-hui stated, "Stricter tariffs and compliance requirements have reduced the use of Chinese batteries." "Even with battery companies actively expanding energy storage system capacity, considering the rate of demand growth, we expect supply and demand balance to be achieved around 2030."