Vietnam aims for more in global battery supply chain

Battery manufacturing either in Vietnam or outside by Vietnamese firms signals that the country is seeking to catch up with the strong global demand for advanced batteries like those reliant on lithium.

A lithium battery is a device that converts its own stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Lithium batteries can generally be divided into three categories - consumer batteries, power batteries, and energy storage batteries, which are mostly used in 3C products (computer, communication and consumer electronic products) electric vehicles, and other fields.

Taiwanese giant Foxconn is repurposing its top electronics contract manufacturer into an EV powerhouse by gearing up to supply cars, and the chips and batteries used for the EVs. Foxconn has been making electronics in Vietnam for years but its presence in the country has yet to include battery production.

Vingroup’s emergence

Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup has already ramped up battery manufacturing. Its EV startup VinFast announced in June 2022 that it had signed a deal to initially invest $2 billion to build a factory in North Carolina in the U.S. to make electric cars and buses, along with batteries for EVs.

VinFast said it plans to have a total investment of $4 billion in its first U.S. factory complex, which is expected to start operations in July 2024. Prior to that, VinFast signed agreements with Credit Suisse and Citigroup on underwriting advisory for global capital-raising transactions to fund its U.S. plant.

Each contract has a minimum value of about $2 billion, focusing on building the North Carolina facility and making other business investments in the U.S. market, VinFast said.

Shortly after VinFast’s announcement of a $2-billion investment for the North Carolina complex, the producer said last July it started to invest tens of millions of U.S. dollars in ProLogium, a global solid-state battery manufacturer. The exact amount has not yet been revealed.

As part of the Vietnamese automaker’s investment in ProLogium, the two will become long-term strategic partners, developing battery pack designs to adhere to the parameters outlined by VinFast.

“VinFast has focused on investing and building strategic partnerships with leading companies in the industry and breakthrough technology companies to quickly grasp and apply technologies for smart and sustainable mobility solutions," Vingroup vice chairwoman and VinFast Global CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said about the new deal.

“ProLogium is one of our key partners, helping VinFast quickly master the supply of solid-state batteries while continuing to deliver EV products with advanced battery technology for a more enjoyable and safer driving experience.”

In the future, ProLogium and VinFast may also establish a joint venture battery factory in Vietnam, according to the Vietnamese firm.

ProLogium was founded in 2006 and has since filed over 500 patents for its proprietary solid-state battery technologies. It earned development agreements with other EV automakers, including Mercedes-Benz.

Other global names in game-changing journey

In Vietnam, Vingroup’s VinES Energy Solutions and China-based global battery maker Gotion High-Tech started construction of their $275-million battery factory in the central province of Ha Tinh’s Vung Ang Economic Zone last November. The factory is designed to annually produce 30 million lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells, which will be used for EVs and energy storage systems.

“The VinES Gotion Ha Tinh Battery factory is an integral part of Gotion’s globalization strategy and the first LFP battery factory in Vietnam,” said Gotion High-Tech chairman Li Zhen.

The two sides plan to start production at the plant in the third quarter of 2023, creating about 500 new jobs for local residents.

Targeting EV and power storage markets across the world, Gotion in December agreed to form a joint venture with two Thai companies, Arun Plus and Global Power Synergy. NV Gotion Co, the new JV, will import, assemble, and distribute battery modules, battery packs for EVs, and battery energy storage systems, shortly known as BESS.

“The real uptick in investments into BESS projects, I’m talking about real commercial projects with solid financial fundamentals, came about three to four years ago and in the last two years, it is going exponentially up,” DNV principal consultant and energy storage lead George Garabandic told Energy Storage News (www.energy-storage.news) in its December 20, 2022 report.

Garabandic namechecked Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, as regions where year-to-year growth in the energy storage markets have been growing “like crazy”.

Global energy consultancy DNV had provided due diligence and market assessment support to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in connection with a $135 million funding package the bank mobilized in December for VinFast’s fully-electric public transport bus fleet in Vietnam. This ADB financing is also for the development of a nationwide EV charging network for VinFast.

In December 2021, VinES of Vingroup started constructing a battery manufacturing and packaging factory also in Vung Ang Economic Zone in Ha Tinh like the new VinES Gotion plant. The facility, of VinES’s own, makes Lithium batteries for VinFast’s electric cars and buses.

Just last October, Li-Cycle, the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, and VinES launched their global recycling partnership, under which the two sides are exploring global recycling solutions for VinES and VinFast.

The new partnership is expected to support VinES and VinFast in their creation of a closed-loop battery supply chain to enhance their environmental goals and contribute to the global electrified revolution with green mobility solutions.

Li-Cycle’s patented and sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling technologies, including its Spoke & Hub Technologies, are an "excellent fit" in both scale and scope for VinES and VinFast’s current and planned manufacturing capabilities, the Canadian firm said.

“We all share a vision to advance a sustainable, efficient and closed-loop battery supply chain,” said Ajay Kochhar, co-founder and CEO of Li-Cycle.

Korean electronics giants Samsung and LG also conduct lithium battery manufacturing in Vietnam. Samsung Electronics runs smartphone and appliance factories in Vietnam, and more than half of Samsung smartphones are made in Vietnam.

South Korea’s largest trade surplus in 2022 was with Vietnam, indicating the increasing importance of the Southeast Asian nation as a major manufacturing base. It was the first year Vietnam ranked No. 1 by this measure in part due to large Korean companies establishing factories in the country.

South Korea’s exports to Vietnam totaled $60.98 billion last year, and imports $26.72 billion, resulting in a surplus of $34.25 billion, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced earlier this January. South Korea's second-largest trade surplus last year was with the U.S., at $28.04 billion.