LG Chem will be supplying battery cells to Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S11+ model to be launched in 2020, according to industry sources on Dec. 12.
LG Chem currently mass produces the cells for the up-and-coming Galaxy phones from its Nanjing plant in China. The initial supplies will be from both LG Chem and Samsung SDI.
This marks the first time for LG Chem battery cells to be used in the initial supplies of the Galaxy S series smartphones, except for its contract with the Galaxy S Note10 among Samsung’s flagship products.
Local manufacturer ITM Semiconductor handled the packaging the battery protection modules that are being assembled from its Vietnamese plant. ITM currently produces both Protection One Chips and Protection Module Packages (PMPs).
The capacity of the LG Chem batteries will most likely be of 5000mAh, industry sources pointed out,as the previous Galaxy S10+ was 4100mAh. This would mean a close to 20% increase in battery capacity, and it was made possible due to the PMPs from ITM that took up less space in the battery pack.
The PMP that ITM manufactured for Galaxy S11+ are a combined form of the Protection IC, MOSFET and PCB. This allows the protection module size to go down about 57% for the ordinary smartphone battery.
Meanwhile, China’s ATL, which had supplied the batteries for the Galaxy S9, was once again excluded from Samsung’s supplier lineup. Instead, ATL has bagged a deal to step up supplies to the mid and lower-tier Galaxy A and M series. BYD, along with other such as Elentec will also be supplying to these budget models, while the premium models are partnered with local firms Samsung SDI and LG Chem.
LG Chem has been ramping up its battery-making technology, especially after November in 2018 when began working together with Chinese battery maker Veken Technology on polymer batteries used in smartphones. LG Chem has invested $56.22 million into the deal, and is aiming to set up a joint venture within the next three years.
Industry sources believe these are a part of LG Chem’s strategies to add more Chinese smartphone makers as clients.
The Elec is South Korea’s No.1 tech news platform.