Samsung SDI will supply batteries for Atlas, the humanoid robot from Hyundai Motor Group’s Boston Dynamics, Korean trade outlet TheElec reported on 7 November, citing industry sources (TheElec). “Each robot will use 70 cylindrical 2170 battery cells”, it reported.
TheElec puts the pack at “approximately 1.3kWh”. Over the two to four hours of operation it cites, that works out to an average draw of roughly 325 to 650 watts, by our arithmetic.
Business Pill · Vertical Integration
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on vertical integration. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss Hyundai, Boston Dynamics or Samsung SDI.
The key insight: Samsung SDI will supply most of the initial batteries for Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid, with each robot using 70 cylindrical 2170 cells for about 1.3kWh, TheElec reported citing industry sources; that is roughly 325 to 650 watts of average draw over the two to four hours of operation it cites, by our arithmetic.
According to TheElec, Hyundai Motor “has finalized the battery specifications for Atlas and selected Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution as suppliers”. It reports that Samsung SDI “is expected to handle virtually all initial shipments and remain the sole supplier for the time being due to limited production volumes”.
The cells measure 21mm by 70mm, and TheElec reports that “Each cell has a capacity of 5,000mAh”. It compares the pack with the 84kWh battery of an Ioniq 5 Long Range, putting it at “about 1.6%” of that capacity.
TheElec reports that, for Atlas, “battery replacement and charging take one hour and 30 minutes and less than three minutes, respectively”. It reports that Hyundai “has assigned responsibility for Atlas to its automotive components subsidiary Hyundai Mobis”.
Implied average power draw of Atlas’s roughly 1.3kWh pack if it runs for two, three or four hours: about 650, 433 and 325 watts. Pack size and runtime from TheElec, 7 November 2026; average draw is our arithmetic, not measured power use.
Atlas, Spot and Production Plans
TheElec reports that “Mass production of Atlas is scheduled for 2028 or later”, and that Spot 2, Boston Dynamics’ next quadruped, will be tested first because it “uses the same 2170 battery cells”.
It reports that Hyundai Motor Group “has deployed approximately 500 Spot 1 robots” at its Metaplant America plant in Georgia. TheElec also reports that “Spot 2 is planned for mass production at a rate of 100 units per month”, and that its price “is estimated at around 100 million won per unit”, depending on options.
Our Numbers
70 cells for about 1.3kWh is roughly 18.6 watt-hours per cell, by our arithmetic. Spread over the two to four hours of operation TheElec cites, 1.3kWh equals an average draw of about 650 watts at two hours and about 325 watts at four hours. Spot 2 at 100 units a month would be 1,200 units a year, by our arithmetic; TheElec gives no Atlas production rate.
Connecting the Coverage
UBS mapped 87 companies across the humanoid robot supply chain, from Nvidia to CATL (our piece). Agility, another humanoid maker, began trading below its PIPE price (our piece), and Physicl raised money to build robots’ rare failure cases (our piece). Tesla cut the memory on its AI5 chip by a third for Optimus, Musk said (our piece).
The Structural Read
As we read the report, Atlas’s battery is built from the same 2170 cell format as Spot 2, which TheElec says will be tested first.
As we read the figures, the pack is small next to a car’s: TheElec puts it at about 1.6% of an Ioniq 5 Long Range battery.
As we read the timing, the supplier choice comes years before volume: TheElec reports that mass production of Atlas is scheduled for 2028 or later.
TheElec, 7 November 2026
“Each robot will use 70 cylindrical 2170 battery cells”
Three Implications
FOR SAMSUNG SDI TheElec reports it is expected to handle virtually all initial shipments and remain the sole supplier for the time being due to limited production volumes.
FOR LG ENERGY SOLUTION TheElec reports it was also selected as a supplier.
FOR HYUNDAI TheElec reports that responsibility for Atlas has been assigned to Hyundai Mobis.
The analysis says: “We are entering a phase where four scaling laws are simultaneously shaping the AI ecosystem, while several converging forces are radically transforming the physical layers underpinning AI itself.”
As we read it, a robot battery spec is one of those physical-layer inputs. The analysis does not discuss Atlas, Samsung SDI or batteries.
What Is Not Established
The report cites industry sources; neither Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, Hyundai nor Boston Dynamics is quoted, and we found no company release. The report gives no contract value, no Atlas unit volume and no LG Energy Solution share. The average-draw figures are our arithmetic from TheElec’s pack size and hours, not measured power use.
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Hyundai has picked Samsung SDI as Atlas’s main battery supplier, with each robot using 70 cylindrical 2170 cells for about 1.3kWh, TheElec reported. Mass production of Atlas is scheduled for 2028 or later, it reported, with Spot 2 on the same cells going first.
A note on sourcing. Supplier, cell and timeline details are as reported by TheElec, citing industry sources; no company release was found. The per-cell and average-draw figures are our arithmetic. This is not investment advice.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
