EIRP U.S.-Korea Energy Series – Working Paper No. 4

Contributing the fourth paper in EIRP’s US-Korea Energy Series, Hanyang University’s Younkyoo Kim provides a South Korean perspective on US-China competition surrounding EV battery supply chains as well as US-South Korea cooperation in addressing it. He gives special attention to South Korea’s dependence on China as a challenge for policymakers.

In “US-China EV Battery Competition and the Role of South Korea,” Kim reviews the EV battery manufacturing process, describes key battery components, and evaluates South Korea’s dependence on China, including the growing role of EV battery materials in the overall South Korea-China trade balance. In addition, Kim describes the impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act and its EV tax credits on South Korea’s EV battery manufacturers and sets out some South Korean concerns. Finally, Kim describes the enormous manufacturing expansion required to challenge China’s dominant market position.

Read the report here.

“US-China EV Battery Competition and the Role of South Korea” is the fourth in a series of EIRP working papers on U.S.-Korea Clean Energy. You can read an American paper on the EV battery competition here. Earlier papers provided US and Korean views of the solar photovoltaic sector.

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