IWSF – Ch 227

CarOS, true to its company name, is creating an operating system that controls not just autonomous driving but the entire car.

Therefore, it’s the most suitable form for electric vehicles, where everything is powered by electricity. That’s why we ultimately aimed to move towards electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles have been a hot topic for several years, and the names Nikola and BYD are frequently mentioned, but actual electric vehicle sales are only about 1 percent of total car sales.

This is due to the limitations of the batteries in electric vehicles. However, the OTK battery can completely solve the problems that existing electric vehicles have.

Who should I tell this exciting news to first?

“Call your sister first.”

Taek-gyu called Hyun-joo noona and explained the situation. Then he handed me the phone.

“She wants to talk to you.”

When I answered, Hyun-joo noona said,

[Is mass production possible? Can we secure the production cost?]

“Yes. With the current technology, mass production isn’t a problem. The production cost is comparable to existing NCM batteries with the same capacity, and we can lower it further in the long run.”

There are many good technologies in the world. However, not all good technologies are commercialized.

In fact, batteries with tens of times the capacity and tens of times the charging speed of existing batteries have already been developed in various research institutes. They have overcome the limitations of existing batteries by using nanoparticles and graphene instead of lithium-ion.

But that was the problem. With current technology, mass-producing nanoparticles and graphene is difficult, and the production cost couldn’t be met, so commercialization failed.

However, the battery developed by Professor Kim Ho-min is different.

[Let’s talk about the details when we meet.]

“Okay. I’ll stop by on the way back.”

I then called Chairman Im Jin-yong.

[Hello.]

“Hello, senior. Are you in Korea?”

[Yes. I’m currently inspecting the Pyeongtaek semiconductor factory. If it’s not urgent, I’ll call you back later.]

“It’s urgent. Can you come to the OTK Research Institute?”

[Right now?]

“Yes.”

Sensing something in my voice, Chairman Im Jin-yong didn’t ask further and answered immediately.

[I’ll be there right away.]

Less than an hour after the call, he arrived at the OTK Research Institute in a hurry. He had visited once before and met Professor Kim Ho-min.

“What’s the matter?”

“Don’t be surprised.”

“Okay.”

Professor Kim Ho-min explained in detail the principles and functions of the new battery… the so-called OTK battery, just like before.

Again, all sorts of technical terms that I couldn’t understand were exchanged.

Chairman Im Jin-yong seemed to understand everything and asked a question.

“If the electrolyte is solidified, I suppose ultra-thin or flexible implementations are also possible.”

Professor Kim Ho-min nodded.

“Of course. Miniaturization and design freedom are high, so it can be made into any shape.”

Chairman Im Jin-yong couldn’t hide his surprise.

“The OTK battery will change the landscape. This is nothing short of a revolution in the automotive and IT industries.”

Battery manufacturers all over the world are pouring huge amounts of money into R&D, risking everything to increase capacity and ensure safety.

Capacity has steadily increased without us really noticing, but the reality is that there hasn’t been any truly groundbreaking progress.

Currently, China is the number one producer of batteries. And China is also the world’s largest producer and seller of electric vehicles. This is because the Chinese government is pouring subsidies into battery manufacturers to foster the electric vehicle industry.

Seosung SB and CL Chemical were excluded from the subsidy program. They gave some excuses, but ultimately, it was to support domestic companies.

In fact, Chinese battery manufacturers are leveraging their huge domestic market to develop their technology and are closely chasing Korean companies.

But now the situation has changed. With the development of the OTK battery, the technological gap has widened by several years, you could say.

Developing the battery isn’t the end of the story.

A mass production system needs to be established, and those batteries need to be assembled into battery cells, and the battery cells need to be connected to create battery packs before they can be installed in smartphones or electric vehicles.

Precisely controlling the voltage, capacity, and discharge rate of thousands of batteries connected in series and parallel requires a high level of technology. That’s why Nikola is praised for connecting 10,000 18650 batteries to create a battery pack.

Chairman Im Jin-yong said confidently.

“As you know, Seosung SB has world-class technology in the manufacturing of battery cells and battery packs. No company can do it better than us.”

Taek-gyu said to me in a low voice.

“Isn’t CL Chemical good too?”

“They are, but…”

They’re not exactly close to us.

However, Seosung SB is different. We own 11 percent of Seosung SB’s shares and have invested $3.5 billion to create a joint venture. So, we should focus on producing with them first.

Chairman Im Jin-yong looked at Professor Kim Ho-min with admiration.

“This is truly amazing. This is something no one has been able to achieve until now.”

Professor Kim Ho-min smiled and said,

“It’s not just me, but the result of everyone here working tirelessly without sleep.”

Then he looked at me and asked,

“So? Do you think I can become rich like you said?”

When I recruited Professor Kim Ho-min, a tenured professor, I promised to make him a lot of money.

All patents developed by the OTK Research Institute are owned by the OTK Research Institute, and all profits from them also belong to the institute.

OTK Company owns 70 percent of the OTK Research Institute’s shares, and Professor Kim Ho-min, the head of the institute, owns 30 percent. Professor Kim Ho-min distributed 10 percent of his shares to the researchers in the form of stock options. Therefore, all the researchers here can be considered shareholders.

The OTK Research Institute, created with an investment of just a few hundred billion won, has developed a technology that could change the landscape of the automotive and IT industries.

What is the value of this technology? 1 trillion won? 10 trillion won?

I asked Chairman Im Jin-yong.

“If we sell it to Seosung Electronics for 10 trillion won, would you buy it?”

Professor Kim Ho-min laughed, thinking it was a joke.

“Isn’t 10 trillion won too much?”

However, Chairman Im Jin-yong readily nodded.

“If mass production is possible, I would gladly buy it.”

At those words, Professor Kim Ho-min and the researchers’ expressions froze. Only then did they realize the value of the technology they had developed.

New technologies make a lot of money for companies and investors. But the reality is that the scientists and researchers who develop them are often treated poorly.

I looked around at them and said,

“Everyone here will be rolling in money.”

Of course, I’ll be making the most money.

***

Three days later, a battery demonstration and presentation was scheduled. The venue was decided to be the Emerald Hall at the Ceylon Hotel in Namsan.

CEO Im Soo-mi said to me,

“We will do our best to prepare so that there are no inconveniences.”

Senior Manager Gi-hong released promotional materials and sent invitations to domestic and foreign journalists and officials.

“…CEO Yang Ho-young of CL Chemical and CEO Chae Won-tae of SSK Innovation have expressed their intention to attend, and oh! Chairman Ryu Cheol-gyun and Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo of RCK Bros will also be coming.”

“Everyone seems very interested.”

“And the Chief of Staff for Policy at the Blue House and the Minister of Science and Technology have also said they will attend.”

I was taken aback and asked,

“Surely you didn’t send invitations to the political circles?”

Senior Manager Gi-hong shook his head.

“Of course not. They heard the news and contacted us first.”

We couldn’t stop government officials from attending when they expressed interest.

Despite being busy with new car production, Daryl and Ryan flew directly to Korea. The two had a separate meeting with Professor Kim Ho-min.

Daryl is also originally a developer and researcher. He developed the autonomous driving software, and Professor Kim Ho-min developed the OTK battery hardware.

Although it was their first meeting, they expressed deep respect for each other and had an in-depth conversation.

On the day of the event, people flocked like clouds.

I hosted the event, and Professor Kim Ho-min was in charge of revealing the technology.

Looking as disheveled as usual, he put up a PPT and explained the OTK battery.

Since it was being revealed to the public and not just for academic circles, he excluded technical terms and explained it as easily as possible.

Simplifying the complex details, the main points were that it doesn’t use cobalt, has twice the capacity, is four times faster to charge, and is even more stable.

Before the presentation was even over, articles were being uploaded to the internet at an incredible speed.

[OTK Battery, Double the Capacity and Four Times the Charging Speed Compared to Existing NCM Batteries]

[Will the Global Battery Industry Landscape Be Overturned?]

[Will It Be Possible for Electric Vehicles to Travel 1,000 Kilometers?]

[The Dawn of the Full-Fledged Electric Vehicle Era]

[The End of Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles Predicted Within 3 Years Due to OTK Company]

After Professor Kim Ho-min’s presentation, I asked the reporters,

“Do you have any questions?”

As if they had been waiting for this moment, the reporters jumped up and started pouring out questions.

“Has the safety been verified?”

“When do you expect mass production to be possible?”

“How much does the production cost differ compared to NCM batteries?”

“Can it be immediately installed in the electric vehicles that CarOS will release?”

“Please tell us the specific schedule.”

***

As soon as the OTK battery was revealed, calls poured in from automotive and IT companies around the world.

I read emails I received from the CEOs of NPL, Gooble, and Iver. They wanted to meet in Korea if I had the time.

Meanwhile, Taek-gyu meticulously checked the internet comments.

-NCM batteries and LFP batteries are all done for. Is the era of OTK batteries dawning?

-I think it’s a national fraud. They’ll reveal the technology like this, take money from investors, and run away.

-Huh? Isn’t Kang Jin-hoo’s net worth over 100 trillion won?

-lol It’s like Bill Gates is taking out a cash loan.

-But is mass production really possible?

-I’m a student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST. Since it’s still a lithium-ion battery, there won’t be any technical difficulties in mass production itself. If the price of the alternative materials is right, it’s definitely marketable.

-I’m an employee at Seosung SB. We’re preparing for trial production, and JY is personally at the factory with the researchers. Only the employees are suffering and can’t go home ㅜㅜ

-Ah! I should have bought Seosung SB stock yesterday.

The OTK battery would first undergo trial production on some lines at Seosung SB’s Suwon plant. They also rushed the development of battery cells and battery packs.

Chairman Im Jin-yong canceled all his other schedules and went directly to Suwon to tour the factory and encourage the researchers.

[It might be possible to install it in the NT9, which will be released as early as next month.]

“Wouldn’t that be difficult by then? We need to see the yield rate too.”

[It will be difficult for all products, but if we hurry, we can install it in a special edition. We plan to install it only in the highest-priced model to gauge the reaction.]

They haven’t even started production yet, but they’re already counting their chickens.

As feature phones evolved into smartphones, the inconvenience of having to charge more often arose. Unlike feature phones that only made calls and sent texts, smartphones are used for internet browsing, watching videos, playing games, and so on.

Isn’t that why everyone carries chargers or portable batteries when they go out?

But with the OTK battery, it’s possible to secure twice the usage time compared to now. Even the heaviest users will be able to use it for about a day.

It may seem like nothing much, but with smartphone technology becoming standardized, this alone can differentiate it from competing products.

Even though it hasn’t been officially released yet, the market reacted first.

Global IBs and hedge funds simultaneously took short positions in battery and electric vehicle companies, pouring out short sales, while buying stocks of companies that would benefit.

Seosung Electronics and Seosung SB stocks rose together, while Nikola’s stock plummeted again, becoming prey for short sellers.

Allen Eberhardt complained that he couldn’t even sleep because of the short selling and threatened to publicly buy Nikola stock and take it private.

Seeing this, it seems that short sellers are rampant in both the Korean and US stock markets.