LG Energy Solution is diversifying its production to grow the electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing business to software and services, such as full battery management software. By the means of this strategic change, the company will become one of the participants in the global energy circulation ecosystem.
Last year, LG Energy Solution announced its vision of creating a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) ecosystem, which is based on the Battery Management System (BMS), a fundamental technology of battery safety. Different types of service business models included in this initiative are leasing of batteries, rental, recycling. The BMS, also known as the brain of the battery, is developed to keep a track of such key parameters as voltage, current, and temperature so that to optimize the battery performance and its life.
In a bid to expand its BMS capabilities, LG Energy Solution subsequently launched B.around (B.around), a special business brand of its Battery Management Total Solution (BMTS). The system is not confined to the conventional BMS tasks and it was designed to meet the growing need of lifecycle battery management systems, due to the emergence of electric vehicle use.
B.Around provides superior services, including battery safety checks and life cycle forecasting through the use of cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI). The system has reached an industry leading error rate of around 1% in the diagnosis of battery degradation by continually analyzing battery cell data of multiple EVs.
LG Energy Solution is also involved in this effort, with the B-Lifecare app, a BMTS-based holistic battery management platform. Just like when speaking to a medical health professional, users of this application can see the health status of the battery in real time using their smartphones. Once the app is downloaded from an app store and a given data collection device is installed in their vehicle, users get bespoke management insights depending on their battery status and driving patterns.
Battery Supply Channel Diversification
In addition to such trends, LG Energy Solution is expanding its battery supply network to keep up with the progress in the AI age. Last November, the company concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bear Robotics, an autonomous driving robot company, to provide battery cells and seek technical cooperation. As AI and autonomous driving technologies push more and more robots into important industries, LG Energy Solution intends to carve out an early position in the global robotics market, which will grow dramatically.
In addition, the spread of AI and big data is increasing the risk of unstable power supply within data centers and other related structures. As a reaction, LG Energy Solution has acquired several large-scale Energy Storage System (ESS) projects in North America, Europe and other markets.
An official from LG Energy Solution stated, “By expanding service and software businesses utilizing AI capabilities and strengthening our new business portfolio, we will build a robust business structure that does not rely on the electric vehicle market and create new opportunities for growth.”
