SEOUL, KOREA - The number of patent applications for flexible lithium ion batteries is increasing at a rapid pace along with the popularity of flexible devices which are emerging as the next-generation devices.
According to the Korea Intellectual Property Office, the number of flexible battery-related patent applications, which stood merely at 24 cases during the period from 2001 to 2009, surged to 107 during the 2010-2013 period.
By company, LG Chem accounted for 58 percent in the flexible battery patent applications, followed by Samsung SDI with 9 percent. By technology, cable battery technology accounted for 50 percent in the patent applications, followed by the forming and processing technology for pouch batteries with 22 percent, the flexible thin film cell technology with 10 percent, the packaging and material technology with 18 percent.
The competition to get the upper hand in the flexible battery market has been flaring up since Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics each released the world’s first curved smartphones last year.
