On September 22, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) unveiled the Battery Technology Roadmap at a high-level industry summit in Seoul, together with the three major cell makers — LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On — and materials companies including POSCO Future M, L&F and EcoPro BM. It is the first time the Korean government has placed sodium-ion batteries alongside all-solid-state batteries as the twin strategic pillars of its battery policy: sodium-ion as the cost answer to China's LFP price offensive, and all-solid-state as the bid for next-generation leadership.
On funding, the government plans about KRW 400 billion in national R&D spending from 2027 to 2031, while private companies have committed roughly KRW 8 trillion in research and facility investment through 2030, about 85% of it concentrated in domestic production and process innovation — roughly KRW 8.4 trillion (about USD 6.2 billion at reported exchange rates) combined. Lee Min-woo, head of the ministry's industrial growth bureau, said the public and private sectors would act as one team to reclaim global dominance for K-batteries through aggressive R&D funding and policy support.
The roadmap sets explicit quantified sodium-ion targets: 160 Wh/kg energy density by 2027 and 220 Wh/kg with full commercialization by 2030, positioning sodium-ion as Korea's flagship low-cost route. All-solid-state proceeds in parallel: the world's first prototypes in 2027, 400 Wh/kg development completed by 2028 and full commercialization by 2030, targeting commercial EVs, robotics, drones and urban air mobility. Supporting measures include production tax credits from 2027, cross-industry standard unification among the three cell makers (pouch and prismatic dimensions), automaker-to-cellmaker BMS data feedback, a recycling system aligned with EU regulations, and localization of next-generation core materials such as precursors, anode materials and lithium sulfide.