SK On announced that it has successfully developed a novel polymer electrolyte, the “SIPE (single-ion conducting polymer electrolyte),” together with with Professor Hadi Khani, a Research Assistant Professor who worked in John B. Goodenough group.

This achievement was made through the company’s collaboration with a research team led by the late Professor John B. Goodenough from the University of Texas. Professor Goodenough is a pioneer in battery technology who doubled the capacity of lithium-ion batteries. In 2019, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry at the age of 97, setting the record as the oldest Nobel laureate. Since 2020, he had been working with SK On on the joint development of “solid electrolytes” for lithium metal batteries until his passing in June last year, after which Professor Khani took over the research team.

“Based on the results of this research, we expect to accelerate the development of solid-state batteries applying polymer electrolytes,” said Kim Tae-kyung, Head of SK On’s Next Generation Battery R&D Office. He added, “SK On will seize growth opportunities in the next-generation battery field by leveraging our competitive edge in new material technologies.”

Meanwhile, SK On is developing two types of all-solid-state batteries: polymer-oxide composites and sulfide-based batteries. The goal is to produce pilot prototypes in 2025 and 2026, respectively, and commercial prototypes in 2028 and 2029. The sulfide-based next-generation battery pilot plant, currently under construction at the company’s Battery Research Institute in Daejeon, South Korea, is expected to be completed in the second half of next year.