South Korea's LG Chem Co. and Siemens, a German electrical engineering and electronics company, have agreed to collaborate more on development and marketing of industrial battery storage systems (ESS), LG Chem said Thursday. 

The two companies signed a preliminary deal at Siemens' German headquarters in Erlangen, Bayern to cooperate on several major ESS projects over the next few years. 

Under the agreement, Siemens, Europe's largest engineering firm, will supply the converters and controllers for the joint storage solutions and handle the project planning and implementation. LG Chem, one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery manufacturers, will provide the batteries and the battery management system.

Siemens has used LG Chem's batteries in several lithium-ion-based energy storage systems since 2012.

The global ESS market that includes grid storage and transportation is expected to reach over $10.8 billion by 2018, according to industry researcher Markets and Markets. (Yonhap)