Korea Fears it Will Lose Its Battery Industry to Sodium Batteries From China
Duration
12:23
Captions
1
Language
EN
Published
Sep 24, 2025
Description
Korea Fears it Will Lose Its Battery Industry to Sodium Batteries From China South Korea fears its battery giants could lose ground as China races ahead in sodium-ion technology, offering cheaper, safer, and cold-resistant alternatives to lithium. Without faster innovation, Korean firms risk being outpaced in the global EV battery market. Sign up for my newsletter here ► https://theelectricviking.com/newsletter/ Get 50% off tickets to the Sydney International EV Motor show - Click on this link: https://www.futuredriveauto.au/syd/ev25/comp-ticket and then Use code ELECTRICVIKING at checkout 🔔 Subscribe and hit the notification bell! ► https://www.youtube.com/@electricviking?sub_confirmation=1 👉Book a 1-Hour Consultation with The Electric Viking via the link at https://theelectricviking.com/consultation/ Join me on Patreon ► https://www.patreon.com/theelectricviking Join as a member in The Electric Viking YouTube► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzi56cxvmEDwjo1Bd2Yxpg/join Members-only videos (see videos before anyone else)► https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUMOjzi56cxvmEDwjo1Bd2Yxpg Support by sending Super Thanks! Here's how to buy a Super Thanks: https://youtu.be/wvgL1xghIGU The best solar company in Australia just installed my new solar system. Check them out here: https://www.resinc.com.au/electricviking I use Starlink internet to upload all of my videos, use my referral link here: https://www.starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-392400-91086-9 👇👇 Buy something and support The Electric Viking Store 👇👇 https://shop.theelectricviking.com/ Size guide and other help for the store 👇 https://theelectricviking.com/the-electric-viking-products-size-guide/ See what happened to Shanna (Sam's wife): https://youtu.be/D6Ah4IC4TLA The Electric Viking on other platforms: Apple Podcasts ► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-electric-viking/id1826841318 Spotify Podcasts ► https://open.spotify.com/show/7qDxQ2PDFC3KvJq5f7Oxih If it's not available in your country, use this link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theelectricviking Rumble ► https://rumble.com/c/TheElectricViking Facebook page ► https://www.facebook.com/theelectricvikingfb Facebook group ► https://www.facebook.com/groups/theevfbgroup/ X (Formerly known as Twitter) ► https://x.com/theevking Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/theelectricvking/ Pinterest ► https://www.pinterest.com/theelectricviking/ Telegram ► https://t.me/theelectricviking TikTok ► https://tiktok.com/@theelectricviking Read my blog ► https://theelectricviking.com/blog/ 👇 My Bali trip 👇 https://youtu.be/teGyu5zSaYI 👇 Video about My Skateboard 👇 https://youtu.be/N9srJ1D2eGA 👇 Subscribe to my kids channel 👇 https://tinyurl.com/subscribetojackandcal See more videos: 2026 Zeekr 7X gets Bigger battery, Thor Chip, Massive Power Boost & More! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78S4mIZyDY Zeekr & Xpeng Are Revealing NEW Models at 2025 Sydney EV Motor Show https://youtu.be/8MQgYB8R8vc Zeekr 7X Black Edition + Zeekr 7X gets over 2000 pre orders in Australia https://youtu.be/pTY4OGEEM_0 2026 Zeekr 7X gets Bigger battery, Thor Chip, Massive Power Boost & More! https://youtu.be/Q78S4mIZyDY Tesla Model Y VS the Zeekr 7X - AWD EV SPEC Battle https://youtu.be/1k-4oaS0-h0 Zeekr reveals NEW Discounts on Zeekr X and Zeekr 009 https://youtu.be/aJC3J_ZuHzA ZEEKR Smashes Expectations! Over 1000 Zeekr 7X Pre-Orders in Australia! https://youtu.be/UZGGrO1rqOw I Ordered a Zeekr 7X one hour after launch https://youtu.be/ZQQsztRCROo XPeng G7 EREV: 440 hp Beast With 200-Mile EV Only Mode! https://youtu.be/i9b0y5FoiBU #batterytechnology #korea #sodiumbttery #chinamarket #innovation #production 👇Reference to the news/charts & videos used in this video: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/business/companies/20250924/chinese-price-competitive-sodium-ion-batteries-pose-threat-to-samsung-lg This channel may use some copyrighted materials without specific authorization of the owner; but content used here falls under the “Fair Use” Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976. Allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Contact us for any copyright issues. If you want a credit of any footage we are using, please let us know. Website: https://theelectricviking.com/contact/ Email: contact@theelectricviking.com
Captions (1)
South Korea has issued a warning. They
say
that China's rise is unstoppable
that global battery companies,
particularly those from South Korea and
Japan, are about to be crushed. And the
reason comes down to one type of
battery. Yes, it's true that lithiumion
phosphate batteries from China have
taken massive global market share. and
they've caused South Korean battery
companies, who once were the biggest in
the world, to shrink enormously over the
past few years. However,
things are only about to get much, much
worse.
And let's be real, the truth is every
battery company in the world, including
BYD, is not immune. All of them are very
concerned about the global hegamon which
is CL. Hello my friends, welcome to the
channel. I'm Sam Evans. You're watching
the Electric Viking.
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that and you can get an update every day
of all the latest news in the electric
car industry. This is a concern. Even
the Chinese government themselves are
concerned. They voiced that concern.
They believe that Kadel have a monopoly
and they believe they have a monopoly
before this technology was announced.
Here's the thing. The media now, the
government now, analysts now, university
professors now are freaking out. They
believe that um South Korea is going to
lose one of its most important
industries, which is the battery
industry. Lee Minhung from the Korea
Times has reported on just how bad this
actually is. He says that Korean battery
firms feared to are feared to lose more
market share. In fact, they could
collapse.
Kadel, a Chinese battery manufacturer
and technology company, is
commercializing sodium batteries. have
said these batteries will be mass-
prodduced within 6 months
and the numbers are shocking. Average
cost at the cell level for batteries
made by South Korean firms
NCM nickel cobalt manganese batteries is
around $100 per kilogram which is
phenomenal. They used to be a,000. But
in comparison to lithium 1 phosphate,
which sitted at 55 to $60 per kilo, they
are not cost competitive.
In the past, these companies could have
said, well, you know, that's fine, but
if you want to get more range out of
your EV, if you want to have a longer
range EV, you need NCM chemistry
batteries. You don't want lithium
phosphate. And that's true to some
extent. As a result, many companies
still use NCM batteries. Whether they're
made by Chinese companies or by South
Korea or by Panasonic or by Tesla, they
are still used. They're losing market
share, but they can still compete on
claims of being able to provide more
range and being not too far away in
price. Right? The difference between $60
US and 100 is big, but not astronomical.
But here's the thing. Sodium batteries
are projected to go down to around $19
per kilogram. Some experts say that a
recent tender showed sodium batteries
being sold for $10 per kilogram. 10.
Yeah. I can't confirm that's correct,
but it's been reported on by numerous
sources. And that cost difference means
not only are NCM batteries being blown
out of the water at a fraction of the
cost, I mean onetenth of the cost, but
so are lithium phosphate. And in the
past we said and an analyst said this
kind of stuff. We've seen it on
Bloomberg. We've seen it on CNBC. They
said sodium batteries suck. The energy
density is house. They don't they
won't compete for years. We are a decade
away at least which was all wrong and so
wrong these people should be fired for
giving out complete false information. I
mean this is how wrong they were.
Bwanese blade battery right one of the
most used batteries in the world. Tesla
Model Y uses it in Germany. Yeah it is
165 watt hours per kilogram energy
density. Kal's much cheaper by orders of
magnitude cheaper sodium battery has an
energy density that is higher than that
at 175 watts per kilogram and will last
many more cycles. We're talking the the
differences here, right? LFP batteries
are sitting at about 1 million km of
range, usable life. Sodium ion 5
million.
Higher energy density, lasts five times
longer, and holds its charge. Right? If
you go for a drive and suddenly it snows
or suddenly it's freezing cold or
whatever the case may be, it gets really
cold, your batteries generally will lose
some of their range. Generally, if it's
really cold, they can lose 40%.
Sodium batteries lose 10%. In that same
situation, and when it's freezing cold
minus 30, they can still charge at 90%
of their original charge rate.
They, in other words, are pretty much
the perfect battery. And this is the
first generation.
Imagine how good they're going to be in
a few years time.
You can see here that um this is going
to be a major disruptor.
The Korea Times says that this move
poses an increasing threat to Korean
battery firms and of course Japanese
ones as well, which still rely on sales
of NCM batteries.
Kadle recently unveiled its second
generation. I should say second gen, but
truth is it's really the first gen
because it's the first one that's going
to be, you know, mass- prodduced and be
the true disruptor. They recently
unveiled the Naxra sodium battery and
shared a plan to start mass production
in December of this year. They have
already received massive orders.
Sodium batteries offer several major
advantages that I've mentioned already.
However, I also didn't mention one other
advantage they have. They are extremely
unlikely to catch fire. Even though
lithiumion phosphate batteries and even
NCM batteries are very unlikely today,
sodium ion even better. Even better.
We're talking almost impossible to set
them on fire. The latest move by the
Chinese battery giant puts pressure on
LG Energy Solutions, Samsung, SDI, and
SKON, South Korean battery firms, as
their research and development of sodium
batteries is still in its early stages.
Now, that's what this Korea Times is
saying, but I'm going to be flat out
honest with you here. This puts pressure
on everyone. This puts pressure on BYD.
Build's cost advantage is be able to
make batteries its own batteries for its
own cars.
They no longer have a cost advantage. I
mean, think about it. If you can get
certain batteries from Kadel cheaper
than what BD can make their own blade
battery, which are and they're better,
then BD's cost advantage disappears. And
I wonder if this is part of the reason
why Burkshire Haway and Warren Buffett
have dumped their stock completely now
this week in the company in BYD. They've
completely liquidated their position. I
wonder if they believe that Build's cost
advantages have now evaporated.
It's very possible. Put it this way. Uh
Kel makes the entire skateboard, the
motors, the technology, everything you
need. Yeah. And that skateboard will be
cheaper than anything anyone else in the
world can produce.
Cost advantages that used to exist have
now evaporated.
Chinese battery firms have rapidly
expanded their market share with cheaper
LFP batteries in recent years,
massively outpacing NCM batteries in the
global EV market. We're talking mega
disruption. According to data from SN
Research, a market tracker, LFP
batteries held a 10% market share in
2019, only 6 years ago. But LFP
batteries made up 34.4% 4% of the global
EV market in 2021, rising to 52% by the
end of 2024.
In 2025, experts estimate they're above
65%.
Experts also warn that Korean and
Japanese battery firms face heightened
risks of losing market share and
potentially even bankruptcy following
Kel's plans to begin mass-producing
sodium batteries.
which as I've just outlined are better
in almost every way. The only one area
that they have I guess disadvantage
versus NCM is lower energy density. But
if the price is 80% cheaper, well, you
could easily just buy a few more of
them, couldn't you? Korean battery firms
have plans to develop their own sodium
batteries around 2030, which means
Chinese rivals are stealing market share
away from their Korean counterparts with
the earlier launch of their new
batteries, said Kim Phil Sue, an
automotive technology professor at Dalem
University. Sodium batteries have some
other advantages as they can be charged
stably in freezing cold temperatures, he
said. On top of that, they have a strong
price edge against NCM batteries. So,
Chinese firms will be able to further
increase their global market share as
Korean firms still focus on sales of NCM
batteries. Additional data from the
market tracker showed that the combined
global market share of the three Korean
battery firms is in sharp decline. Their
combined share in the first half of this
year fell to 16%, down 5.4 percentage
points from one year earlier. In 2021,
they accounted for more than 30% of the
global EV battery market. In fact, in
2020, they accounted for more than 40%.
In contrast, Chinese battery firms held
a commanding 78% market share during the
same period, and in fact, they've just
gone above 80%.
Industry officials said Korean battery
firms need to overhaul their strategy to
counter the mounting threat from Chinese
rivals. Even if Korean battery frames
have have been recognized with their
quality NCM batteries, this may not be
the case anymore as more car makers
including Hyundai Motor are moving to
adopt Chinese NCM batteries due to their
price edge and their quality. Now whilst
the Korean media, Korean auto industry
and even the Korean government are very
concerned uh worried, afraid about what
is about to happen.
The truth is so are Chinese battery
companies.
Kat is the biggest battery company in
the world. It holds more than 30% global
market share and that could be about to
double.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for
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