Bosch, Samsung SDI to form hybrid car battery JointVenture

SEOUL (Reuters) – Robert Bosch and Samsung SDI have signed a contract to form a hybrid electric vehicle battery joint venture to boost their presence in the next-generation energy business, Samsung said on Monday.

The 50:50 joint venture in South Korea is named SB LiMotive and will be launched in September. It will start production in 2010 with initial capital of $20 million, according to a Samsung statement.

Samsung SDI, which produces flat screens and lithium-ion batteries, has focused its energy business on components for mobile goods such as notebook computers, handsets and MP3 music players.
It has already been jointly developing hybrid electric vehicle batteries with a top auto maker and plans to expand its energy business in earnest with the establishment of the venture with Bosch, its statement said.

Samsung has been supplying batteries for electric tools to unlisted Bosch, the world’s biggest automotive supplier.

Reuters