Head of research at LG Energy Solution said on Thursday that battery and automobile companies must closely collaborate to resolve fires in electric cars.
LG Energy Solution research director Jung Geun-chang told TheElec said it may be a textbook answer but the issue required close collaboration between the companies.
Asked to comment on automobile companies citing battery cell as the likely cause of fires, Jung declined to comment.
Jung was speaking at a battery conference at the city of Pohang.
In October, Hyundai Motor commenced a voluntary recall of its Kona electric vehicles due to some of the models recently catching fire. LG Chem’s battery business, which recently became LG Energy Solution, had supplied the batteries for the car model.
Hyundai have cited damages to the separators inside batteries as the cause of fires. LG Chem responded right away, saying it can not be said with certainty that battery cell defect caused the fires.
Hyundai and LG are in talks to handle the issue. The two sides are also discussing how to bill the cost of the recall, people familiar with the matter said.
LG Energy Solution will likely bear some of the cost like it did for the fires in energy storage systems last year.
