LG Energy Solution has become a main player in the EV battery market thanks largely to its employees devoted to battery development. Indeed, all employees are committed to developing better-performing batteries to enhance customer value. Among them, we have Hyelin Yun of the Automotive Battery Development Team here for IN:CHARGE.
Q. Please introduce yourself.
Hi. I’m Hyelin Yun and I work at the Automotive Battery Development Team. We develop high-performance batteries at the team and my job is to check whether high-performance battery design meets customer demands. I try different combinations of design and raw materials to find rooms for improvement of cells and design, review it with the goal of making marketable cells.
Q. What is especially appealing about your job?
Cell development lets you know everything throughout the battery industry, because you should consider many things including performance and mass-producibility when you design, as well as communicate with customers. This is a job that involves many tasks and you should be able to look at different aspects of the industry.
Q. What are the qualifications required by the Automotive Battery Development Team?
From a researcher’s perspective, the EV battery is a very unique product. Customers want different types of performances and the manufacturer should think about all aspects including fairness, quality, and price. As such, the balance of Quality, Cost, Delivery (QCD) is more important than in any other industry.
Therefore, you need to be able to “paint the big picture and have a long-term perspective.” You should remember that even a battery is made through organic connections of a variety of factors and figure out how your project will be linked to your colleagues’ jobs.
Also, as for me, I try to keep my critical thinking skills sharp and reach the most rational decision. You need a different approach sometimes, like when you apply a new method. You should look beyond what appears to be, and check your work thoroughly from every perspective.
Q. What do you do to have your own expertise?
I turn to the in-house information sharing platform or apply for employee training programs. I study batteries when I have time, in order to become more professional.
I like to ask questions to my colleagues and discuss with them, which contributed greatly to building my work ability. First, I get the context of my work by browsing internal documents and try to recognize the principles of it as I straighten out things, such as why this decision-making process and this design were chosen, in my mind. If I need more explanation, I ask anybody, be it my senior or colleague, and discuss with them. I realize I am growing as a developer in those times.
Q. What is the goal you want to realize with the skills you have polished?
I would like to produce “an exceptionally well-designed battery” that will be talked about forever and I can be proud of. I believe I could make a more advanced battery if I continue building my ability and applying new techniques as I work. It would be even better if I could contribute to improving EV performance through continued research. I will keep promoting EV adoption by developing safe high-performance batteries.