Phil Energy from South Korea wins mysterious order from European battery manufacturer

Recently, Phil Energy, a South Korean secondary battery equipment manufacturer, successfully won an order from a European battery manufacturer to manufacture the next generation 46 series cylindrical battery manufacturing equipment. At present, both parties have signed a supply agreement for this cooperation, but have not disclosed the customer name and order size to the public.

It is understood that the equipment supplied in this order is mainly a winding machine for manufacturing 46 series cylindrical batteries. Phil Energy won this order based on a product that combines ultra high speed laser slotting technology with winding function. The 46 series cylindrical battery is a battery with a diameter of 46mm and a length of approximately 80-120mm.

As early as 2020, when Tesla first launched the 4680 battery, it attracted widespread attention in the industry. At that time, Tesla claimed that the energy capacity of the battery was five times that of the existing 2170 standard battery, and the range increased by 16%. At present, the 4680 battery has been used in some Tesla models by 2023. Its Berlin and Texas factories have begun delivering Model Y models equipped with 4680 batteries, and Tesla plans to invest 200GWh of 4680 battery production capacity in the United States. In recent years, domestic and foreign battery manufacturers have also started large-scale production of 46 series cylindrical batteries and plan to expand their production scale.

LG Energy Solution announced that it will begin mass production of 4680 cylindrical ternary lithium batteries in recent years, further joining the competition for large cylindrical batteries.

Panasonic is a long-term battery partner of Tesla. It has produced the 4680 batteries needed by Tesla on its trial production line in a Japanese factory and plans to expand production scale in the United States.

Yiwei Lithium Energy is one of the earliest enterprises in China to achieve mass production of 46 series large cylindrical batteries. The commercialization of its 46 series large cylindrical batteries is progressing smoothly and has been officially delivered to customers in bulk.
As a leading global manufacturer of power batteries, CATL has also joined the camp of the 46 series large cylindrical batteries.

In addition, many domestic battery companies have also joined the research and production of large cylindrical batteries, promoting the development of the entire industry.

As mentioned earlier, Phil Energy's equipment that won the order this time combines two advanced technologies, one is the ultra fast laser slotting process for fast and precise processing of anodes and cathodes; Another method is the winding process used to round the anode, cathode, and separator.

According to its product information, the device is equipped with a non-stop production system, which can accelerate production speed and minimize downtime to the greatest extent possible. It is worth mentioning that the laser grooving module on the winding machine is equipped with the function of laser precision machining of anode thin sheets, which perfectly compensates for the problem of low production capacity when using laser to process anode plates.

Phil Energy stated that at present, the company has conducted in-depth discussions with several global battery manufacturers based on the above-mentioned technology and signed actual contracts. In the first quarter of 2024, Phil Energy achieved sales of KRW 57.3 billion, operating profit of KRW 1 billion, and net profit of KRW 600 million. Its first quarter payroll was approximately KRW 1.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 92.3%. During the same period, research and development expenditures also increased by 126.6%.

As of January 2024, Phil Energy has a backlog of orders worth 291.2 billion Korean won.

In addition, Phil Energy is currently expanding into global markets such as North America, in addition to the European market, to further diversify its customer base.

Source: OFweek