K-Battery Cultivates New Growth Engines, Showcasing Future Technologies at InterBattery

Battery makers have effectively declared their ambitions ahead of InterBattery 2026, the country’s largest battery industry exhibition, which opens next week. Through the event, the industry plans to present a vision for batteries that goes beyond electric vehicles (EVs) and Energy Storage Systems (ESS) to encompass AI infrastructure and robotics.
Alongside exhibits of Solid-state battery (SSB) technology, widely seen as a potential game changer, the three major battery companies—LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On—are expected to intensify their technology competition. They will unveil ultra-high-output, high-quality batteries that enhance the safety and efficiency of AI data centers, as well as new products for ESS applications.
POSCO Future M will also showcase next-generation cathode and anode materials that can be broadly applied to EVs, ESS and robots, stepping up its efforts to strengthen competitiveness in battery materials.
■ Batteries expand beyond electric vehicles
The three major Korean battery makers—LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On—announced on the 2nd that they will participate in InterBattery 2026, to be held from the 11th to the 13th at the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Their shared goal is to move past the temporary slowdown in EV demand and expand battery applications into infrastructure such as ESS and AI data centers, as well as into robotics, drones and other new fields.
LG Energy Solution will unveil for the first time its Lithium Manganese-Rich (LMR) electric vehicle battery, which maximizes the balance between cost and performance. It will also introduce, for the first time in Korea, a next-generation JP6 UPS rack system based on LFP (lithium iron phosphate) for emergency power in AI data centers, along with a battery backup unit (BBU) solution equipped with high-power cylindrical batteries.
LG Electronics’ home robot "LG CLOi" and Bear Robotics’ Carti 100 autonomous service robot will also be on display, underscoring that LG Energy Solution’s high-performance cylindrical batteries can be used across a wide range of home and industrial applications.
Samsung SDI has chosen the "data center," a core piece of infrastructure in the AI era, as the main concept of its exhibition. At the center of its booth, the company will present battery solutions for UPS and BBU applications and propose "zero power gaps" in AI data centers through ultra-high-output batteries. Its U8A1 UPS battery, a prismatic product that combines high power with strong safety, was recognized for its technology last year when it became the only Korean product named an award winner at The smarter E Europe, the continent’s largest energy exhibition.
Samsung SDI will also display the full lineup of its integrated ESS battery solution, Samsung Battery Box (SBB), and introduce what it describes as world-class solid-state battery technology, along with various applications such as robots that can use this technology.
Positioning ESS as a core business, SK On will unveil a high-energy-density LFP pouch battery and an ESS DC block that incorporates diagnostic technology based on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The system is designed so that only abnormal modules can be selectively replaced, improving maintenance convenience. The company will also exhibit a Hyundai WIA Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) equipped with a high-nickel ternary battery, which is already being used at industrial sites such as Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA).
■ Future materials technologies on display
POSCO Future M will use InterBattery 2026 to present future cathode and anode materials technologies that can be applied across a wide range of industries.
The company plans to outline the coming era of the Battery of Things (BoT), in which all kinds of devices are powered by batteries, and to unveil the materials technologies needed to support it. It will highlight innovative materials solutions tailored to the characteristics of various devices, including autonomous EVs, ESS and humanoid robots.
POSCO Future M will also share the development status and roadmap for next-generation materials such as ultra-high-nickel cathode material (Ultra High-Ni cathode material), which raises nickel content above 95% to boost driving range and output; Lithium Iron Phosphate Cathode Material (LFP cathode material), which offers cost competitiveness and long life for ESS and entry-level EVs; solid-state battery cathode materials; and silicon-based anode materials.
An industry official said, "Through this year’s InterBattery, battery companies will actively present their future visions along with new technologies," adding, "It will be an opportunity to see how the influence of K-Battery is expanding beyond electric vehicles into areas such as robotics."

hjkim01@fnnews.com Hak-jae Kim Reporter