The current crop of smartphone batteries produced by Samsung uses the “flat jelly roll” method. It doesn’t allow tighter packaging of components. The natural swelling of the battery during charge and discharge can bend and damage the electrodes. The stacking method solves this issue by allowing the manufacturers to tightly pack the battery components layer by layer. This will free up the space inside the battery, making room for added capacity. According to the Korean publication The Elec (via), the stacking method allows for at least a ten percent increase in the battery capacity. This means a 5,000mAh battery produced using the traditional method (like the one in the Galaxy S22 Ultra) could have a 5,500mAh capacity if the stacking method is used without increasing the size. Manufacturers can also make the battery packs smaller without reducing the capacity.
Samsung to make smartphone batteries more efficient
Samsung SDI, the Korean behemoth’s battery manufacturing unit, has been using the stacking method to make 5th gen EV batteries for over a year now. This method saves on production costs and also increases the range of electric vehicles without affecting the weight or size of the battery unit. It appears the company has now gathered enough expertise to use this technology for smartphone batteries as well. According to the new report, Samsung SDI will renovate the M-Line production unit at its Cheonan plant in Seoul, South Korea to manufacture stacked-type smartphone batteries. The cost of this renovation project could be around 100 billion won (approx. $81 million). The Korean company is also reportedly planning a pilot line at its Tianjin plant in China. Samsung SDI may source the manufacturing component for this line from local supplier Yinghe Keji. “The Chinese pilot line is for mass-production testing, and we plan to utilize the domestic Cheonan plant for the production line,” The Elec quotes an industry official as saying. Unfortunately, we don’t have any timeframe regarding when Samsung will begin the production of smartphone batteries using the stacking method. Time will tell whether the new type of battery will be ready for the Galaxy S23 series. The next-gen Samsung flagships should arrive in the first quarter of 2023. In the meantime, we expect to hear more about this development and will keep you posted accordingly.
