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SK Innovation loses U.S. battery trade case but gets temporary OK to sell to Ford, VW


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5 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:


A few people I follow on twitter live in Texas and got by with the Tesla power wall and solar tiles. Never lost power once and the tiles still worked even after being completely covered with snow. Honestly, it really sold me on the system. I probably won't invest in it for my current house but when we do move in a few years I will definitely look into it. 

 

I do think they're on to something with the solar tiles if they can provide a good amount of power.....eliminate the ugly panels and just have a roof.  I've really not looked into it enough, but I wonder what the lifespan of those are compared to a normal roof.

 

And how they perform in hurricanes.....

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On 2/22/2021 at 1:10 AM, akirby said:


They didn’t plan for this worst case scenario.  Happens a lot.  Doesn’t matter if it’s private or govt.  But private industry can and probably will respond faster than a govt agency.

 

It could be worse, places like South Africa now has such an unreliable power grid that most people 

now have their own generators that cut in the moment mains supply is interrupted.

Texas is in a completely different situation, a 20 year weather event doesn't justify going out buying 

a generator for back up but if another event happens in two or three years, maybe people start to 

think about it.

Edited by jpd80
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23 minutes ago, jpd80 said:

It could be worse, places like South Africa now has such an unreliable power grid that most people 

now have their own generators that cut in the moment mains supply is interrupted.

Texas is in a completely different situation, a 20 year weather event doesn't justify going out buying 

a generator for back up but if another event happens in two or three years, maybe people start to 

think about it.

 

The CEO of Generac was on CNBC the other day and said they have a long backlog for their generators, and even longer backlog of having it installed as permits are needed. They are building a 2nd plant in SC, but even then they cannot keep up with demand. Generac also does solar powered generators. Look for all auto companies to copy Ford Powerboost within year or two. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Latest update. LG Energy wrote a latter to Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, saying that the company will consider building its own battery plant in the state if SK Innovation can't proceed with operation of its plant in Jackson County. Also, LG Energy said that if another company acquires the SK Innovation plant, it will help operate it. https://www.vindy.com/news/local-news/2021/03/lg-energy-at-the-ready-for-georgia/

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4 hours ago, rperez817 said:

Latest update. LG Energy wrote a latter to Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, saying that the company will consider building its own battery plant in the state if SK Innovation can't proceed with operation of its plant in Jackson County. Also, LG Energy said that if another company acquires the SK Innovation plant, it will help operate it. https://www.vindy.com/news/local-news/2021/03/lg-energy-at-the-ready-for-georgia/

For some reason, this just comes off as sleazy.  Trying to bribe politicians to hold SK to the fire and come in and be the hero.  Makes me curious about the money trail to/from LG and the ITC.  GM can probably be included as well since they stand to benefit from SK being shut out of the market.  Then the ITC started slamming Ford for working with SK knowing that they used stolen technology.  I saw Ford responded that the deals in question had already been in the works before any of it surfaced.

 

Was there any actual evidence that SK stole information and used it or just that they had destroyed it?  Are any other countries involved in the lawsuit or just the US?

 

 

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On 3/16/2021 at 12:52 AM, slemke said:

Was there any actual evidence that SK stole information and used it or just that they had destroyed it?  Are any other countries involved in the lawsuit or just the US?

 

Evidence that SK Innovation stole or misappropriated trade secrets from LG Chem or LG Energy is scant. 

 

The litigation that is the subject of this thread is U.S. only, though LGC and SKI were involved in legal disputes in South Korea between 2011 and 2014.

Edited by rperez817
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5 hours ago, rperez817 said:

Volkswagen's announcement during its Power Day event earlier this week that it would be moving to prismatic batteries from pouch style has both LG Energy and SK Innovation worried. I wonder if Ford will follow VW's lead? VW's new battery strategy stuns South Korean suppliers (autonews.com)

I wonder what will happen to the battery plant in GA.  If Ford does follow VW’s lead, that will surely put the plant in jeopardy.  Either that or Hyundai /Kia will need to dramatically increase production.  Sure seemed like LG was counting on picking up a bunch of business out of the ruling against SK.  With that quickly evaporating,  it might put additional pressure on the two of them to settle.  If Ford needs to find a new supplier, no reason to go with LG...they did throw the wrench in Ford’s plan after all.

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I drive by that plant all the time but haven’t been that way in about 8’weeks. Not sure if construction is still progressing or not but hope this gets settled or tossed. Another reason Ford needs to get into the battery business or partner with VW on making their own batteries. 

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15 hours ago, kyle said:

I drive by that plant all the time but haven’t been that way in about 8’weeks. Not sure if construction is still progressing or not but hope this gets settled or tossed. Another reason Ford needs to get into the battery business or partner with VW on making their own batteries. 

 

Like engines, it sure seems prudent to build your own electric motors and batteries in house if you plan on building millions of hybrids and all electric vehicles. More importantly, it will keep your union force happy and content. 

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8 hours ago, FordBuyer said:

 

Like engines, it sure seems prudent to build your own electric motors and batteries in house if you plan on building millions of hybrids and all electric vehicles. More importantly, it will keep your union force happy and content. 

Only if you can differentiate them from your competitors.  A fair number of transmissions are now outsourced, joint ventures, or built under license.  Building under license might be the way to go for electric motors and batteries.

 

I doubt the union will ever be content, much less happy.  That’s just the nature of the beast.  Need to keep the workers at odds with management to keep them under union control.  Otherwise, if workers think they can get just as good or better treatment without a union it will be disbanded.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update April 1, 2021. U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in favor of SK Innovation, not an April Fools joke either. U.S. ITC says SK Innovation didn't infringe LG Energy Solution patents | Reuters

 



The initial determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) marks the first time LG Energy Solution has received a negative determination from the trade panel for one of its several legal disputes with SK in the United States.

“The ITC’s decision is regrettable, but we respect its decision,” the wholly-owned battery division of LG Chem said in a statement. The company, whose clients include Tesla Inc, General Motors Co and Hyundai Motor Co, had filed a claim citing four patent infringements to the ITC in 2019.

SK Innovation said it “fully expected” the ITC’s preliminary ruling, adding it had spent years developing its lithium-ion battery technology.

SK shares jumped 10.7% while LG Chem stock rose 1.7% in morning trade, against a 0.7% rise on the broader market KOSPI.

The patents decision could have some bearing on a separate ITC dispute between the pair ITC over claims SK misappropriated trade secrets from LG related to electric vehicle battery technology.

In a February ruling on that issue, the ITC sided with LG, issuing a limited 10-year exclusion order prohibiting imports into the United States of SK’s lithium-ion batteries.

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