Samsung SDI plans to invest $128 million to improve battery safety after the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco

Samsung SDI manufactured and supplied the first batch of batteries for the Galaxy Note 7, and Samsung announced yesterday that faulty batteries were causing fire and explosion in the smartphone. Samsung SDI has now announced that it will invest 150 billion won (approx. $128.31 million) to improve battery safety after the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. The company has also set up an emergency situation room at the Cheonan plant in South Chungcheong Province and established a production safety innovation task force.

The company has appointed over 100 employees in the safety teams for three divisions: Development, Production and Technology, and Quality and Verification. The company first strengthened the process in the development phase of the batteries to prevent the compression of electrolytes, which was also the cause of issues in the Galaxy Note 7. It also added X-ray inspection system as well as implemented a new verification process where it would test millions of batteries in harsher conditions.

We are now standing at the crossroads of life and death of the company. Whether we work together for a complete overhaul or fade into the mists of history will depend on our determination.

– Cho Nam-seong, President, Samsung SDI

The company is reportedly receiving a good number of orders for its polymer batteries, matching to the levels before the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. It is also receiving orders from automotive brands for energy storage systems for electric and hybrid cars. A Samsung SDI official said, “Even global smartphone makers are placing more orders for polymer batteries to Samsung SDI. Especially, Samsung SDI’s batteries are highly likely to be used in Samsung Electronics’ next smartphones.”