SEOUL, April 24 (Reuters) - LG Energy Solution

said on Wednesday it would launch a new business

model of licensing out its battery technologies next month, as

infringements of the South Korean company's patents surge with

competition to supply electric vehicle makers.

LGES, the world's second-largest EV battery producer after

China's CATL, will also consider issuing warning

notices or suing those it suspects are infringing its patents,

Lee Han Sun, head of LGES' intellectual property center, said in

an interview.

"Over the past two or three years, myriads of latecomers

have sprung up in the EV battery sector globally, resulting in

the spread of a price war and patent infringements," Lee said.

LGES has evidence of patent infringements in many countries

including the United States, India and China, Lee said. He

declined to name the companies involved but claimed that about

580 of LGES' patents have been infringed and the number of

violations would likely increase.

LGES, which supplies batteries to Tesla, General

Motors ( GM ), Volkswagen and other automakers, said

in a statement on Wednesday that patents were infringed in a

wide range of technologies involving cylindrical battery

manufacturing processes, electrolytes for high nickel batteries

and silicon anode technology.

LGES said it plans to use various patent monetization models

by forming a global patent pool, aggregating patents it believes

have been infringed, and licensing out the technology in phases.

Demand for EV batteries reached more than 750 Gigawatt hours

(GWh) in 2023, up 40% relative to 2022, according to the

International Energy Agency. However, global battery demand is

set to weaken sharply this year as EV demand cools, squeezing

margins and cashflow of many battery makers.

Earlier this month, Tesla said quarterly EV deliveries

declined for the first time in nearly four years. Legacy

automakers are slashing investment in EVs and doubling down on

gasoline-powered vehicles, as consumer demand switches back to

more affordable options.

Lee said LGES has seen rivals which had infringed its

technology win battery supply orders by offering products at

lower prices.

"Without patents, we could never justify spending fortunes

on new products," Lee said. "There were times when we had to

pour a lot of money (into research and development). For

instance, about 20%-30% of our revenue went into research to

develop lithium-ion batteries."

LGES said it had spent about $4.5 billion in its battery

research and development over the past decade.