Ford’s plans for the F-150 electric pickup and Volkswagen’s for the VW ID.4 are under threat as their battery supplier faces an import ban on intellectual property rights.
LG versus SK innovation
In 2019, LG Chem, one of the largest electric vehicle battery suppliers, filed federal lawsuits against SK Innovation (SKI), another major electric vehicle battery supplier, for stealing trade secrets.
In the lawsuits, LG alleges that SK Innovation has ‘had access to trade secrets’ by hiring 77 employees of their lithium-ion battery division of LG Chem, which they claim developed the world’s first commercial Li-ion battery for automotive use.
They claim some of those workers stole some trade secrets before leaving for SK Innovation:
These employees include dozens of engineers involved in research and development, manufacturing and assembly, and quality assurance testing of Li-ion batteries, including the latest and most advanced generation of battery technology. The lawsuits allege that a significant number of these employees were involved in the theft of LG Chem’s trade secrets for the benefit of SK Innovation in the development and production of bag-type Li-ion batteries, of which LG Chem is the world’s largest supplier .
LG Chem claims to have evidence of the employees plotting with SK Innovation.
The company has filed similar lawsuits against SKI in Korea, as both companies are based in South Korea, and they have won in the Supreme Court.
They are asking for a preliminary injunction to prevent SKI from importing its battery cells and modules into the US.
LG has won, and SKI isn’t the only one to lose
The International Trade Commission has now ruled on the case banning SKI from importing its batteries into the US.
However, Bloomberg reports that the ITC gave Ford and VW, which relied on SKI’s batteries for a number of upcoming electric vehicle programs in the US, a few years before the ban was introduced:
SK Innovation will now be able to import components for domestic battery production for Ford’s EV F-150 to be launched next year for four years, and for Volkswagen’s US MEB line for two years, to give car manufacturers time to make the switch on new domestic suppliers, the International Trade Commission ordered.
Ford warned the committee that switching battery supplier isn’t easy, but the carmaker seems 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. Delivering this zero-emission purpose-built 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 market a fully electric version of the F-150 pickup in 2022.
FTC: We use automatic affiliate links that generate income. Lake.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.