Ecopro Targets Humanoid Robot Battery Market with High-Nickel and All-Solid-State Technologies

Robot Competition Accelerates Among Samsung, Hyundai Motor, and LG
Sulfide-Based Solid Electrolyte Targeted for Mass Production by 2027

Ecopro is accelerating the development of high-nickel cathode materials and all-solid-state battery material technologies, viewing the humanoid robot market as the next major source of demand for battery materials.

Solid electrolyte powder for all-solid-state batteries, a key material attracting attention for accelerating the commercialization of humanoid robots. Ecopro

This strategy is rooted in the belief that the robot battery market could become a new growth engine, as major Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company, and LG Electronics begin to actively pursue humanoid robot businesses.

Through its in-house communication channel "ECO Toktok," Ecopro recently predicted that, as the humanoid robot market expands, battery energy density and weight will emerge as key competitive factors.

Humanoid robots require various motors and actuators to replicate human-like movements. According to Ecopro, if battery weight increases, the robot’s load also increases and operational efficiency declines, thus making ternary batteries, which offer relatively high energy density and lower weight, more advantageous.

Ecopro particularly sees the technological shift from high-nickel ternary batteries to all-solid-state batteries as playing a crucial role in the robot market.

Junho Song, Head of the IT Materials and Components Research Division at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, stated in an ECO Toktok interview, "Humanoid robots are likely to become a representative market where high energy density is most critical," adding, "To achieve this, it is necessary to advance ultra-high-density single-crystal high-nickel technology and accelerate the commercialization of cathode materials for all-solid-state batteries."

Additionally, Ecopro shared the current status of all-solid-state battery technology development—considered a game changer in the battery industry—with employees through the content series "Dissecting the Super-Eul Project."

Ecopro BM was recently selected for the "3rd Super-Eul Project" sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, in recognition of its research and development achievements in all-solid-state battery materials.

The Super-Eul Project is a large-scale government R&D support initiative designed to foster material, component, and equipment companies that secure irreplaceable, unrivaled technological capabilities and obtain key positions in the global supply chain, much like the Netherlands-based photolithography equipment company ASML.

For this project, Ecopro BM plans to accelerate the advancement of sulfide-based solid electrolyte development, a core material for all-solid-state batteries.

Dongchae Lee, founder of the Ecopro Group, emphasized, "Having gained significant momentum in future growth engines, we should further expand our research and development capabilities to become the game changer in secondary batteries."

Since initiating the development of sulfide-based solid electrolytes—a core material for all-solid-state batteries—Ecopro has optimized both process and composition. As of the article’s publication date, the company operates a pilot plant with an annual capacity of 40 tons, which has passed quality verification by major battery firms. Ecopro is currently consulting with clients for trial production and has completed production line design, targeting full-scale mass production by 2027.

In addition, Ecopro is building competitiveness by simultaneously developing cathode materials suitable for all-solid-state batteries based on its high-nickel cathode technology, ensuring compatibility with solid electrolytes.

Ecopro has identified robots as one of the main applications for all-solid-state batteries, which are expected to be game changers in the battery sector. Given the high costs associated with all-solid-state batteries, Ecopro anticipates that the technology will be adopted in robots first, which will help reduce costs prior to expansion into electric vehicles.

Bohyoun Gong, Executive Director of R&D at Ecopro BM, stated, "We are rapidly securing a leading position in the domestic market by acquiring proprietary process technology in the field of sulfide-based solid electrolytes," and added, "For all-solid-state battery cathode materials, we have optimized manufacturing processes to enable the use of existing ternary cathode production lines, thereby establishing a system that allows for rapid mass production conversion."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.