SK Materials Group 14 facing difficulty in producing silicon anode

SK Materials Group 14, the joint venture between SK Materials and Group14 Technologies, is facing troubling in producing silicon anode smoothly at its factory in South Korea, TheElec has learned.

According to company insiders, the silicon anode factory at Sangju, South Korea, has never operated continuously. While the factory has shipped samples, this has also not led to commercial production, they said.

Some production processes need to be adjusted but the company was facing technological challenges and financial problems, they added.

The joint venture was formed in 2021 and aimed to operate a 2,000 metric tonnes per year silicon anode factory and eventually expand the capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes.

Group14 said in September that the factory shipped silicon anode for the first time.

But insiders told TheElec that the factory was not operating normally. Instead processes are started then halted repeatedly and the adjustment needed for certain processes are being delayed, they said.

The funds that SK Group provided for the project has also already been tapped out and the factory needs more funds, they said.

A SK Materials spokesperson said it was not true that the factory operation was not going smoothly.

They said the factory is manufacturing samples and that mass production is possible after customer testing.

Silicon anode boasts higher energy density and charging speed compared to graphite anode in batteries.

But they are more difficult to produce and are more expensive. 

Meanwhile, it is also unclear whether group affiliate SK On, which makes electric vehicle batteries, is planning to adopt silicon anode.

Group14, founded in 2015, developed a silicon-carbon composite it brands SCC55™. It received investments from ATL in 2018, SK Materials in 2020, and Porsche in 2022.