SB LiMotive was a 50:50 joint company of Bosch and Samsung SDI founded in June 2008. The joint venture developed and manufactured lithium-ion batteries for use in hybrid-,

plug-in hybrid vehicle A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable electric-vehicle battery, battery pack that can be directly replenished via a power cord, charging cable plugg ...

s and

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

s. It was officially ended in September 2012 with both companies focusing on automotive batteries alone.

Milestones

In September 1980, SB LiMotive Co. Ltd. started its operations in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. About one month later, the German subsidiary SB LiMotive Germany GmbH was founded. In July 2009, SB LiMotive acquired US-American battery manufacturer Cobasys LLC. The groundbreaking of the cell manufacturing plant in Ulsan, Korea was two months later. In November 2010, the plant's inauguration took place.

Locations

Headquarters and cell development are located in

Yongin Yongin (; ) is a city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, the largest in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population over 1 million, the city has developed rapidly since the 21st century, recording the highest population growth of any city in th ...

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous administrative divisions of South Korea, province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a list of provinc ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. At the second Korean site in

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

, the cell manufacturing plant was constructed in just 9 months. Lithium-ion cells for pre-series projects are being manufactured there since 2010 and series production will start in 2011. In

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

-Feuerbach, Germany, battery systems are developed and prototypes built. At its location in Germany, SB LiMotive has also built up a global team for sales, marketing, and management of key accounts. In 2009, SB LiMotive acquired the U.S. company

Cobasys Cobasys LLC is an American automotive technology corporation. It supplies nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, battery control systems, and packaged solutions for automotive applications, uninterruptible power supplies, telecommunications appl ...

with its two sites in Orion Township, Michigan, and Springboro, Ohio. Nickel-metal hydride batteries are being manufactured there and the location is now also used to support customers with the engineering of lithium-ion battery packs. At all locations, SB LiMotive employs worldwide some 700 associates in total (as of end of 2010).

Portfolio

SB LiMotive provides lithium-ion energy storage solutions from single cells to complete battery systems. They can be used in all vehicles from micro-hybrid to full electric vehicles. Additionally, the joint venture supports its customers with engineering services for software, battery management services and cooling systems.

Ownership Structure

SB LiMotive is a 50:50 joint venture between Samsung SDI and Robert Bosch GmbH. Mr. Jingun Lee is President of SB LiMotive and Dr. Joachim Fetzer is Executive Vice President.

Customers

SB LiMotive will supply lithium-ion battery cells to BMW for its electric vehicles, which are part of the "Megacity Vehicle" project. The German automaker will install the battery cells into the EVs, which will go into series production in 2013. Secondly, SB LiMotive will supply complete lithium-ion battery systems for the Fiat 500 EV. The battery system will be developed in Orion, Michigan, the production of cells will be in Ulsan, and the assembly of the battery pack will be in Springboro, Ohio /USA. Chrysler intends to bring the Fiat 500EV to the US market from 2012 on. The drive train consists of a high power electric powertrain module, advanced lithium-ion battery and an EV control unit to manage power flows. Vehicle and powertrain will be developed at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.Press Information SB LiMotive, 8 November 2010: SB LiMotive to provide lithium-ion battery packs for FIAT 500EV

Dissolution

In March 2012, after four years, the dissolution of the joint venture was announced. Bosch received about 45 million Euros from Samsung, while Samsung kept the lithium-ion cell production site in Ulsan and the development center in Giheung. Bosch absorbed the battery-system business section in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. American company Cobasys LLC was integrated into Bosch. The partners agreed to a mutual access to their about 3000 patents.

References

External links

{{Bosch Samsung subsidiaries Electric vehicle battery manufacturers Electronics companies established in 2008 2008 establishments in South Korea Electronics companies disestablished in 2012 2012 disestablishments in South Korea