SK On and SK Innovation are expanding their energy storage system (ESS) business based on vanadium ion batteries (VIB), which offer high fire safety.

SK On and SK Innovation announced on the 6th that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for “secondary battery technology development and business cooperation” with Standard Energy, a VIB ESS specialist, at Standard Energy’s headquarters in Daejeon Metropolitan City on the 5th. The signing ceremony was attended by SK On President Lee Seok-hee, SK On Future Technology Institute Head Park Ki-su, SK Innovation Environmental Science & Technology Institute Head Kim Pil-seok, and Standard Energy CEO Kim Bu-ki.

The core of this agreement is technological cooperation to enhance the performance of VIB-based ESS batteries with high safety and high output suitable for short-duration ESS. Short-duration ESS generally refers to systems that store and discharge energy for less than four hours and are mainly used in data centers and industrial facilities. As they require repeated high-output operation over short periods, fire safety and output performance are critical.

The three companies stated that they plan to combine their respective core technological capabilities to strengthen both the performance and price competitiveness of VIB ESS. Based on its mass-production experience in batteries, SK On will expand technological cooperation with Standard Energy from raw material procurement to materials, cells, and battery management systems (BMS). They will also pursue differentiated technology development, including large-area cell design.

SK Innovation will improve material performance by developing electrolyte additives and will also seek ways to reduce costs by using vanadium recovered from refining processes.

Through this cooperation, SK On is set to strengthen its “safety-focused” strategy by expanding its ESS product portfolio from existing NCM and LFP batteries to include VIB. VIB uses an aqueous electrolyte, eliminating fire and explosion risks, and delivers high output, making it suitable for short-duration ESS.

Standard Energy is the first company in the world to develop VIB specialized for ESS and to succeed in demonstration and commercialization. According to Standard Energy, a VIB ESS installed in downtown Seoul through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s regulatory sandbox has been operated without a single incident, and has since proven its safety and performance in high-traffic environments such as subway stations and building interiors. In March last year, it was the only Korean company named among Time’s “World’s Best Companies in GreenTech 2025.”

SK On President Lee Seok-hee said, “Through this cooperation, we will be able to further solidify our product portfolio by jointly developing vanadium ion batteries for ESS with outstanding fire safety,” adding, “Based on globally competitive technology, we will deliver new value to customers.”

Standard Energy CEO Kim Bu-ki said, “We will rapidly commercialize vanadium ion batteries, which have complementary characteristics to lithium-ion batteries, together with SK On and SK Innovation, and establish a new standard for ESS in environments such as data centers and urban areas where both safety and performance are required.”

Meanwhile, the second ESS central contract market bidding process, which is underway early this year, has adopted “fire safety” as a key criterion. SK On plans to target the market with ESS that use electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technology to detect abnormal signs at least 30 minutes before a fire occurs.

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