Battery fires in South Korea prompt transparency requirements over EV battery origins

Amid growing public concern over electric vehicle (EV) safety, the South Korean government has initiated a review of safety measures surrounding EV batteries and infrastructure, including parking facilities and EV chargers. The publicly announced move follows several high-profile fires, including a deadly fire at a battery factory in June and a recent EV fire in Incheon that caused evacuations and injury.

According to the government, the Incheon fire caused the evacuation of more than 200 families, and destroyed dozens of cars.

In response to the battery issue, the Office for Government Policy Coordination convened a vice-ministerial meeting with key ministries today, August 13, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, and the National Fire Agency. The outcome, published on its website, was that the government planned to advise all EV makers to disclose the names of battery suppliers voluntarily and offer free EV inspections to owners.

The Office said: “Such battery information has not been available to the public so far and the measure is to reduce EV owners’ fire anxiety.”

Already, South Korean units of Mercedes-Benz and BMW disclosed the names of the companies that supply their EV batteries for the first time. Hyundai, Korea’s largest carmaker, listed the battery manufacturers for all its EV models on its local website over the weekend, with fellow domestic carmaker Kia disclosing the battery manufacturers for its seven EV models on Monday.

The Mercedes-Benz EV that caught fire at an apartment complex in Incheon reportedly had a battery from Chinese manufacturer Farasis Energy. Mercedes Korea did not specify the company that made the battery in the car involved in the fire. Still, local media, including The Korea Herald, said it was identified as China’s Farasis Energy, adding it was a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery. The company reportedly faces scrutiny over its NMC batteries.

Mercedes Korea also disclosed other battery suppliers, including South Korean companies LG Energy Solution and SK On, and CATL and Farasis from China. BMW Korea listed Samsung SDI or CATL batteries in current and discontinued EVs.

Yoon Joonwon, a fund manager at DS Asset Management Co. in Seoul, told Bloomberg that the sentiment against smaller battery makers is a risk: “It’s difficult to tell at this point whether Farasis batteries are the problem, but there’s a general sentiment that the risk is higher with smaller battery makers than major producers like CATL or Korean makers. Until the issue is resolved, consumer sentiment toward EVs is expected to remain deteriorated for some time.”

The Office for Government Policy Coordination said it will unveil more comprehensive measures in September to address the safety risks of EVs.