LG bets on humanoid robot parts with groupwide push

LG Group affiliates are moving into the humanoid robot component market by combining actuators, sensors, batteries, displays, and AI, with an as-yet-unformalized cross-subsidiary bundling push similar to its approach in autos and AI data centers.

LG Electronics expects mass-production capacity for its Axium actuators by year-end, while LG Innotek has started early output of camera, lidar, and radar modules for humanoid customers such as Boston Dynamics and Figure AI and sees large-scale production in 2027 or 2028.

LG Energy Solution showed solid-state battery cells for humanoids and is targeting 2030 for anode-free versions, but the robotics push is still early as LG Electronics has not shipped actuators externally. LG Innotek said meaningful revenue is three to four years away.

🔗 Source: The Korea Herald

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Actuators and specialized batteries drive LG’s robotics strategy

Actuators, which work like a robot’s muscles, make up about 40% to 60% of a humanoid’s total build cost 1.
LG Electronics plans to have mass-production capacity for its Axium actuator line ready by year-end, aiming for the priciest slice of the components business 1.
Batteries account for roughly 5% of cost, yet they often limit performance since humanoids need high peak output for lifting and staying balanced 2.
LG Energy Solution targets 2030 for anode-free all-solid-state cells for humanoid robots, seeking higher energy density inside the tight space of a robot’s torso 1.

A supply chain for humanoid robots is starting to take shape

Humanoid makers still struggle to scale high-precision parts because today’s supply chains are not set up for high-volume production 3.
LG Group affiliates plan to sell bundled humanoid-robot subsystems that combine actuators, sensors, and batteries, moving the market closer to standardized parts like the automotive supplier model 1.
Broader access to off-the-shelf subsystems could cut prices and ease entry, leaving one camp building end-to-end robots and another assembling machines from suppliers such as LG 4.
A dependable parts network supports growth toward a forecast market size of about US$29.5 billion by 2036 3.