Hyundai Signs MoU for EV Battery Leasing Business, Strengthening EV Ecosystem

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the South Korean government as well as logistics, battery, and mobility companies to demonstrate the electric vehicle (EV) battery leasing business.

The MoU constitutes an agreement through which, Hyundai aims to foster an EV ecosystem by alleviating the initial cost burden of EV purchases and providing innovative services that enable the eco-friendly reuse of batteries.

Apart from the South Korean government, MoU was also signed with  Industry and Energy as well as Hyundai Glovis, LG Energy Solution, and KST Mobility for the rental of electric taxi batteries and the sustainable reuse of EV batteries in energy storage systems (ESS).

Under the agreement, KST Mobility, the taxi operator, will sell the ownership of batteries in newly purchased EVs to Hyundai Glovis, the battery lessor. KST Mobility then pays a monthly fee for battery usage. As a result, KST Mobility is able to have lower initial investment for EV purchases.

The company explains how, when the batteries are swapped after extensive usage, the removed batteries are reused in energy storage systems (ESS) for fast-charging EV taxis. To save cost, ESS is charged in the middle of the night when electricity rates are lowest and then charges EV taxis during daytime when electricity is comparatively expensive.

Consequently, in this business model, Hyundai will oversee overall business operations while selling battery electric vehicles (BEV) to KST Mobility. Hyundai is also responsible for providing battery warranty and replacement batteries for vehicles that return batteries after use.

Additionally, Hyundai Glovis will operate a battery rental service and recover batteries after initial usage. Along with that, LG Energy Solution will analyze safety and residual value by purchasing batteries after use. It will also install these batteries into ESS units for fast-charging service and sell them to KST Mobility to utilize the chargers for its fleet of EV taxis. The driving and battery data from these EVs are shared with all parties under the MOU.

Furthermore, this enterprise will demonstrate and validate the safety of used EVs and allow all involved parties to find means to appraise the residual value of used batteries. This is expected to encourage the reuse of EV batteries. The shared EV battery data will also allow other new business opportunities to be explored.

Recently in January 2021, Hyundai Motor India Foundation had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) – IIT Delhi.

This collaboration was done for IIT Delhi students to study alternate energy-powered vehicles and emerging technologies to innovate new-age mobility solutions. The company had also donated its KONA Electric to FITT-IIT Delhi for NVH and battery technology research to aid the students in their study and research.