According to media reports, Japanese electronic component company TDK is handling many inquiry requests from Asian smartphone manufacturers as its newly developed batteries are highly popular.
Previously, TDK stated that its silicon carbon negative electrode battery has a capacity 10% higher than traditional graphite negative electrode batteries. The company believes that this type of battery has the ability to become a "game changer" in the future, loading more power into increasingly lightweight devices.
It is understood that TDK is a well-known Japanese electronic component company worldwide. In 2005, it fully acquired the equity of ATL and expanded its products to the smartphone market. Currently, TDK ATL holds more than one-third of the global market share of mobile phone batteries and is also a major supplier to Apple.
TDK CEO Noboru Saito told the media that TDK is the first company to apply silicon carbon negative electrode technology to smartphones, while competitors are still exploring and their main research direction is to apply it to electric vehicles.
The report states that Samsung SDI and LG New Energy (LGES) are researching stacked battery technology to produce batteries with higher energy density. In addition, companies are also researching other options such as graphene batteries, solid-state batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and sodium ion batteries.
Saito Sheng said that in order to maintain a leading position in the fiercely competitive smartphone industry, the company must continue to pursue proprietary technology. "We need to assume that other companies will also enter this field, and we need to develop one technology after another to make ourselves unique and prevent our leading advantage from shrinking."
Industry research has shown that silicon carbon negative electrodes have the potential to increase battery capacity by 40% or more. Dongyang Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda said that the product should be able to extend the battery life of more devices, including mobile gaming devices, wearable devices, and artificial intelligence related tools, while reducing their size.
Among them, smartphone manufacturers are particularly interested in silicon carbon negative electrodes, hoping to gain an advantage in the near saturated market through the design allowed by ultra-thin devices and high-capacity batteries. Saito Sheng also acknowledges that there is still room for further development of this technology.
He predicts that in the coming years, the percentage of silicon carbon negative electrode batteries in the company's overall sales of mobile phone batteries will reach double digits, currently less than 5%. "Some people may say that our battery sales are gradually declining, but I disagree. I guarantee that in the long run, batteries will also become an important pillar of sustainable development in the group's product portfolio."
Saito Sheng added, "As we enter the era of artificial intelligence, the world becomes more interconnected, and the demand for batteries will only grow. Our mission is to meet these needs through continuously developing new technologies."