November 21, 2024

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Samsung SDI showcased its upgraded Samsung Battery Box 1.5, a scalable energy storage solution designed for home or business applications, at Interbattery Europe 2024 in Germany last month. (Samsung SDI)

Samsung SDI is set to supply energy storage solution batteries worth 1 trillion won ($724 million) to NextEra Energy, the largest electric utility in the United States.

Industry sources report that Samsung SDI is finalizing a contract to provide batteries with a total capacity of 6.3 gigawatt-hours to NextEra Energy. This supply is equivalent to 11.5 percent of North America's total energy storage solution capacity of 55 GWh last year.

The key product in this deal is the Samsung Battery Box, an energy storage system featuring high-nickel nickel-cobalt-aluminum battery cells, modules, and racks housed in a six-meter-long container. It was showcased at the Interbattery Europe 2024 exhibition in Germany last month.

This design maximizes battery capacity by optimizing internal space, boosting energy density per container by 37 percent compared to previous models. It also features module-embedded direct injection technology, which significantly improves fire prevention and heat management by injecting cooling material directly into the battery modules.

A Samsung SDI official declined to elaborate on the deal, saying the company was unable to disclose details about its clients.

The global energy storage market is currently dominated by Chinese products that use low-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries. According to SNE Research, a Korean market research firm specializing in energy industry research, China accounted for approximately 86 percent of the energy storage market last year.

However, anticipated US tariff increases on Chinese goods from 7.5 percent to 25 percent in 2026 are expected to drive demand for Korean alternatives.

Korean companies are diversifying their portfolios to include energy storage systems in response to a decline in demand for electric vehicle batteries. Samsung SDI, for instance, established the ESS Business Team, a dedicated energy storage organization, at the end of last year to expand its presence in this sector.

By Moon Joon-hyun (mjh@heraldcorp.com)