Automotive

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  Hanwha Aerospace secures $165 million contract to supply electromechanical actuators for Vertical's eVTOL vehicle SEOUL -- Hanwha Aerospace, an aircraft parts maker affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, has secured a 10-year contract worth about $165 million from Britain's electric aviation company Vertical Aerospace to supply high-performance electromechanical actuators for an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle. An electromechanical actuator that converts electricity to mechanical force is a core component for personal air vehicles. Vertical's eVTOL model, 2022-08-23
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  Hyundai Mobis develops technology to sterilize and purify car room air SEOUL -- In response to a new trend that emphasizes hygiene due to a COVID-19 pandemic, Hyundai Mobis, the parts-making unit of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, has developed a technology to sterilize and purify internal air instead of filtering pollutants through car air conditioner filters or using a separate air purifier indoors. Hyundai Mobis has developed a built-in air sterilization system using ultraviolet (UV) rays with the aim of removing floating bacteria from mecha 2022-08-16
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  SK Telecom works with state agency to establish 5G UAM communication network SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a mobile carrier in South Korea, will establish an aerial 5G communication network for the demonstration of urban air mobility, an ecosystem covering personal air vehicles and infrastructure, in cooperation with a state aeronautics and space agency in a flight test center in the southern seaside county of Goheung. As a member of UAM Team Korea, a public-private consultative body, to commercialize manned drone taxis in 2025, remote-controlled vehicles in 2030 2022-08-04
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  [FOCUS] Premature concerns grow over low-cost offensive by Chinese electric vehicles SEOUL -- There has been no change in the public perception of cheap Chinese products that have largely failed to satisfy picky South Korean consumers so far. However, premature concerns are growing in the domestic car industry that Chinese electric vehicles may make quick inroads by pouring out various models and with their low-cost offensive based on the economy of scale achieved on their home turf. Experts recommend a major overhaul of subsidies to prevent Chinese and other import 2022-08-04
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  SK nexilis acquires technology to produce ultra-high strength copper foil SEOUL -- SK nexilis, a subsidiary of SKC, a chemical material unit of South Korea's SK Group, has acquired technology to produce an ultra-high strength copper foil product for electric vehicle batteries. The new product can withstand more than twice the pulling force compared to existing standard products. Battery foils made of aluminum and copper are used as anodes and cathodes for secondary batteries. Foils work as the bridge between external components and internal lithium- 2022-08-02
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  POSCO Chemical secure new contract from GM to supply cathode materials for high-nickel batteries SEOUL -- POSCO Chemical secured a new three-year contract worth 13.7 trillion ($10.5 billion) from General Motors to supply cathode materials for high-nickel batteries to GM's joint venture with LG Energy Solution, a major battery maker in South Korea. Cathode materials produced at POSCO Chemical's domestic plant in the southern industrial port city of Gwangyang will be shipped from 2023 to the GM-LG joint venture, Ultium Cells. POSCO Chemical and GM have agreed to buil 2022-07-28
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  LG Electronics ties up with SoundHound to develop advanced voice AI technology for in-vehicle infotainment systems SEOUL -- LG Electronics tied up with SoundHound, a U.S. audio and speech recognition company, to jointly develop advanced voice AI technology for new in-vehicle infotainment systems, which are seen as the heart of connected cars that provide various features such as navigation, self-diagnostics, entertainment and vehicle controls. LG Electronics has signed a memorandum of understanding with SoundHound. The partnership will leverage LG’s innovative in-vehicle infotainment (IV 2022-07-28
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  Hyundai joins hands with state research bodies to develop lunar exploration mobility SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group formed a consultative group with six prominent state research bodies to carry out a joint study on the development of lunar surface exploration mobility. The move came ahead of the planned launch of South Korea's first lunar orbiter on SpaceX's Falcon-9 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. While developing technologies required for lunar exploration mobility, the consultative body will consider specific strategies a 2022-07-27
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  LG Uplus consortium selected by Busan to carry out UAM demonstration SEOUL -- A consortium involving LG Uplus, a mobile carrier in South Korea, will carry out demonstration projects in the southern city of Busan using its marine infrastructure with the aim of commercializing urban air mobility, an ecosystem covering personal air vehicles and infrastructure, in 2026. LG Uplus (LGU+) said that the consortium has signed a business agreement with the Busan city government, two military units including a naval fleet command and other organizations to comm 2022-07-27
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  Research body develops train-to-train communication technology for autonomous driving SEOUL -- South Korea's state-run railway research body has developed a train-to-train communication technology, opening the way for the commercialization of an autonomous driving system that allows trains to judge operation conditions by themselves. A train autonomous driving system is an intelligent train control technology that directly communicates between trains to recognize the operation situation in real-time for safety. The Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) claimed 2022-07-26
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  LGES agrees with Huayou Cobalt to establish battery recycling joint venture in China SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution, the battery-making wing of South Korea's LG Group, will establish a joint venture with its Chinese partner, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to extract and recycle core materials from waste batteries. The deal comes on the heels of soaring prices in battery-grade minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium. LG Energy Solution (LGES) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huayou on the establishment of a battery recycling joint ve 2022-07-26
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  SK On and Ford to build cathode plant in North America to bolster battery cooperation SEOUL -- Through joint investment, SK On, a major battery maker in South Korea, and its American partner, Ford, will build a cathode plant in an undecided location in North America to secure a stable supply of core materials for electric vehicle batteries. SK On said it has signed a letter of intent with Ford and EcoPro BM, a leading producer of core materials for batteries in South Korea, for joint investment in the production of a cathode plant. Construction is to begin in the se 2022-07-22
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  Hanhwa Group reveals aggressive strategy to preempt air mobility technologies SEOUL -- South Korea's Hanhwa Group revealed an aggressive strategy to preoccupy a future air mobility market by forging a series of partnerships with foreign companies with superior technologies in the manufacturing of various flying vehicles that could be used for air taxis and personal air vehicles. The Farnborough International Airshow, a trade exhibition in England, provided a crucial opportunity for Hanwha Group units to forge partnerships with foreign companies such as 2022-07-21
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  Hanwha Aerospace ties up with Britain's Vertical to develop electro mechanical actuator for air taxis SEOUL -- Hanwha Aerospace, an aircraft parts maker affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, tied up with Vertical Aerospace, a British electric aviation company, to develop a high-performance electro mechanical actuator for air taxis and flying vehicles for urban air mobility, an ecosystem covering personal air vehicles and infrastructure. At the Farnborough International Airshow, a trade exhibition in England, Hanwha Aerospace said it has signed a joint cooperation agre 2022-07-21
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  Rolls-Royce partners with Hyundai to develop all-electric propulsion and hydrogen fuel cell technology for AAM SEOUL -- Rolls-Royce, a luxury automobile maker in Britain, joined hands with South Korea's Hyundai auto group to cooperate in developing all-electric propulsion and hydrogen fuel cell technology. The partnership will leverage Rolls-Royce's aviation and certification capabilities and Hyundai's hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Rolls-Royce and Hyundai share a vision of leading the way in the advanced air mobility (AAM) market by delivering battery-electric and fuel cell 2022-07-19
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  Butterfly mimicked to create Hyundai's eVTOL interior cabin SEOUL -- Engineers and designers have mimicked a butterfly to create a lightweight interior cabin made of forged carbon fiber for an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) being developed by the urban air mobility team of South Korea's Hyundai auto group. Supernal, a mobility service provider set up by the auto group in the United States, revealed its five-seat eVTOL vehicle cabin concept at the Farnborough International Airshow, a trade exhibition in England. 2022-07-19
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  Provincial government submits bid to host test center for hyperloop technology SEOUL -- A provincial government has submitted a bid for South Korea's state project to establish a test center for the research and demonstration of hyperloop technology that allows a vehicle levitated by magnetic force to drive at a maximum speed of 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) per hour. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will decide in August to select a site for the test bed that will conduct research with the goal of driving 800 kilometers per hour on a te 2022-07-18
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  Kolon Industries invests in lithium metal anode company to diversify portfolio SEOUL -- Kolon Industries, a chemical and textile manufacturing company in South Korea, made a strategic investment in Neo Battery (NEVA), a domestic startup specializing in lithium metal anodes, to diversify its business portfolio into important materials for secondary batteries. Kolon Industries said it has become the second-largest shareholder of NEVA by investing about 10 billion won ($7.7 million). NEVA produces high-purity lithium metal ingot, chips, foil, or powder while re 2022-07-11
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  SK nexilis to complete construction of thin copper foil plant in Poland in 2024 SEOUL -- The subsidiary of SKC, a chemical material unit of South Korea's SK Group, will complete the construction of a thin copper foil plant with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons in Poland in the first half of 2024. The plant is part of a strategy to establish a global production system. SKC said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, SK nexilis, would invest 900 billion won ($691 million) to complete the construction of its plant in Poland in the first half of 2024. It 2022-07-08
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  Mexico favored by S. Korean EV component makers to circumvent U.S. trade restrictions SEOUL -- Mexico is emerging as a place favored by South Korean electric vehicle component makers to circumvent trade restrictions imposed by the United States where demand for electric vehicle components is increasing with the expansion of renewable energy and eco-friendly transportation means. At Ramos Arizpe, a city in the Mexican state of Coahuila, POSCO International, a trading arm of South Korea's steel group POSCO, held a groundbreaking ceremony on July 6 for its plant to 2022-07-07