If Samsung SDI sounds familiar, that’s because we’re talking about the Samsung affiliate who had the unfortunate mission to build what turned out to be faulty batteries for the Galaxy Note 7. Those batteries overheated and exploded, causing various fires that forced Samsung to announce a massive recall — ultimately, the phone was scraped as batteries from a second supplier kept exploding.
Samsung SDI made the news again on Wednesday when one of its plants in China caught fire. Cue all the battery jokes you can think of.
Things, however, aren’t as bad as they sound. A spokesperson told Bloomberg that the fire didn’t affect production, as it occurred at a waste depository, not a production facility.
It’s not clear what caused the fire, and whether it’s battery related, but Samsung SDI apparently described it as a “minor fire.” Even so, pictures posted on China’s Weibo social network showed plumes of black smoke rising from the Samsung SDI plant.
more picture about Samsung SDI in tianjin is on fire… pic.twitter.com/Ui6J4mGwSj
— 萌萌的电教 (@MMDDJ_) February 8, 2017
Samsung a few weeks ago explained that two distinct battery issues were responsible for the Galaxy Note 7. The company did not mention Samsung SDI by name, but only Samsung SDI and ATL provided batteries for the handset — Samsung identified a different battery flaw for each company.
Samsung vowed to take additional steps to ensure battery safety in future smartphone designs. As for Samsung SDI, the company will provide most of the batteries that will go into Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S8.
Samsung SDI has invested $150 billion won, or around $129 million, in safety measures, Bloomberg explains.
