Samsung SDI opens third R&D hub in Shanghai

Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. revealed the past weekend that it had inaugurated its new research and development (R&D) center in China. The opening was held on Saturday, and this is the company’s third research center.

Samsung SDI’s new R&D facility was built in Shanghai, and The Korea Herald reported that it has been named the SDI Research & Development China or the SDIRC. The company will team up with universities and research institutions to obtain localized technologies and assess industry trends while also cultivating local talents.

The battery and electronic materials company based in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, is especially looking forward to big support from the country’s state-supported battery industry. Aside from China’s New Energy Vehicle Industrial Development Plan that aims to build a greener auto industry that is also globally competitive at the same time, there are also a great number of local universities that are also running programs for training battery professionals of the future.

Samsung SDI has a goal of achieving competitiveness through its global R&D network. To attain this, the plan is to secure key frameworks for battery production, like the advanced production methods and facilities that are specific to the territory of each country, including the United States, Europe, and China.

“The purpose of establishing R&D centers overseas is to secure our edge in global technological competence and talent pools in the respective regional cluster,” Korea Joongang Daily quoted Samsung SDI president and chief executive officer Choi Yoon Ho, as saying in a statement. “By leveraging global technological competence and talent pools, we will further bolster our pursuit of outstanding technological competitiveness.”

He added, “We will further bolster our pursuit of super-gap technological competitiveness through collaborations with top universities and research institutions.”