[ad_1]
Ford’s plans for the F-150 electric pickup and Volkswagen’s plans for the VW ID.4 are at risk as their battery supplier faces an import ban over intellectual property issues.
LG innovation against SK
In 2019, LG Chem, a leading supplier of electric vehicle batteries, filed a federal lawsuit against SK Innovation (SKI), another supplier of electric vehicle batteries, for allegedly stealing trade secrets.
In the lawsuits, LG alleges that SK Innovation “accessed trade secrets” by hiring 77 employees at its lithium-ion battery division of LG Chem, which they claim “developed the first pocket-type Li-ion battery. in the world for automobiles ”.
They claim that some of these employees stole trade secrets before leaving for SK Innovation:
These employees include dozens of engineers involved in the research and development, manufacturing and assembly and quality assurance testing of Li-ion batteries, including the latest and most advanced generation battery technology. . The lawsuits allege that a significant number of these workers engaged in the theft of LG Chem trade secrets for the benefit of SK Innovation in the development and manufacture of pocket-type Li-ion batteries, of which LG Chem is the world’s largest supplier .
LG Chem claims to have proof that employees are conspiring with SK Innovation.
The company brought similar lawsuits against SKI in Korea, with both companies based in South Korea, and they won in the Supreme Court.
They are seeking an injunction to prevent SKI from importing its cells and battery modules into the United States.
LG won and SKI is not the only one to lose
The International Trade Commission has now ruled on the case and banned SKI from importing its batteries into the United States.
However, Bloomberg reports that the ITC gave Ford and VW, which relied on SKI batteries for some upcoming electric vehicle programs in the United States, a few years before the ban was implemented:
SK Innovation will be able to import components for four years from now for domestic battery production for Ford’s EV F-150 launch next year, and for Volkswagen’s US MEB line for two years, in order to give manufacturers time to switch to new domestic suppliers, the International Trade Commission has ordered.
Ford warned the commission that switching battery supplier is not easy, but the automaker appears happy with the four-year delay in the ban:
This ITC decision supports our plans to bring the all-electric Ford F-150 to market by mid-2022. Providing this specially designed zero emission truck for our customers is an important part of our plan to lead the electric vehicle revolution and is a top priority for the company.
Ford has previously confirmed plans to release a fully electric version of the F-150 pickup truck in 2022.
FTC: We use automatic income generating affiliate links. After.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.
[ad_2]
Source link