On the 12th of this month, SBTL Advanced Materials' pouch film production factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. While an ultra-thin aluminum film is being wound around a rotating roll, an operator checks for foreign substances under special lighting. This is the final inspection stage before the finished goods are produced, where any blemishes or foreign materials missed by the machine are manually filtered out.
Pouch film serves as an outer material that wraps around batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS). It protects the anode and cathode materials from external shocks and heat. SBTL Advanced Materials processes flattened aluminum, copper, titanium, and stainless steel by applying pressure, surface treatment, coating, aging, drying, and slitting to create pouch film.
Cheon Sang-wook, CEO of SBTL Advanced Materials, noted, "It takes about 20 days for the finished goods to be produced through all processes," adding, "The annual production capacity of the first to third lines at the Hwaseong factory is approximately 24 million square meters, equivalent to about 20 gigawatts (GW) in battery storage capacity." One gigawatt represents the output of one nuclear power plant and can charge 100,000 to 150,000 electric vehicles simultaneously.
Established in 2017, SBTL Advanced Materials has a minimal market share but is expanding its presence based on its technological capabilities and new businesses. About 95% of the domestic pouch film market is occupied by Japan's DNP. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has a policy to increase the domestic pouch film localization rate to 50% by 2030, and SBTL Advanced Materials was designated as a leading business in the film sector last month.
Cheon noted, "We are accelerating product development that distinguishes us from competitors. We are focusing not only on high-safety and high-moldability products such as heat diffusion suppression, detachable products, and cooling plates for electric vehicles (EVs) but also on products for next-generation solid-state batteries." He added, "In the research and development (R&D) sector, we are already collaborating with global automakers and battery manufacturers, achieving significant results."
A solid-state battery is a battery that replaces the liquid electrolyte with a solid electrolyte. The solid electrolyte takes over the role of the separator, making it lighter and reducing the risk of fire or explosion. With a higher energy density, it enables high voltage and high output, making it known as the "dream battery" in the electric vehicle battery industry. Samsung SDI proposed the earliest mass production date of 2027 in South Korea.
Cheon said, "It is true that there are concerns that it may take several more years for large-and-medium solid-state batteries for electric vehicles to become commercialized," while also stating, "We plan to target the market for small solid-state batteries or semi-solid batteries that will emerge earlier than large-and-medium models, for wearable electronic devices, smartphones, and robots to fill the gap."
SBTL Advanced Materials aims to go public in the securities market in 2027 after internal preparations for technology evaluation starting next year. The funds raised from the listing are expected to be used for expanding the second factory and research and development. The company is currently reviewing a site of approximately 99,000 square meters near the Chungcheong region and plans to initiate a contract in the fourth quarter. Once the expansion of the second factory is completed, the annual production capacity is expected to increase to 530 million square meters by 2030.