Hanwha Group subsidiary Hanwha Corp. recently signed a supply deal on battery formation equipment with U.S. electric vehicle giant Tesla, reports The Korea Times.
An official press release of the company said its machinery division recently inked a deal with Tesla to supply equipment used in the process. “We had a supply deal of battery formation equipment with Tesla,” the official said.
Battery formation is the process of initial charging and discharging of battery cells. This process is conducted in the final phase of the battery manufacturing procedure to format and test it before installation.
The process demands a high voltage and precise output current to ensure the battery cells will last for the indicated lifetime.
Hanwha’s battery formation equipment will initially supplied to Tesla’s Fremont factory in California and then to production facilities in Nevada, Germany and China, reports local tech news site TheElec.
In addition to battery charging and discharging equipment, Hanwha Corp’s machinery division produces equipment needed for the assembly of battery cells such as notching, stacking, tab welding and pouch forming machines.
With the inking of the deal with Tesla, questions are rising over whether Hanwha is entering the lucrative rechargeable battery cell business.
With an aim to capitalize on EV battery and energy storage systems businesses, Hanwha Chemical, now a subsidiary of Hanwha Solutions, established production lines for cathode and anode materials in 2010 but closed the business after three years.