SK Innovation to spend USD 727 million to build second EV battery plant in US

SK Innovation Co Ltd. On Tuesday announced that it will spend $727 million to build a second electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the United States. SK Innovation is battery  supplier for Volkswagen and Ford Motors.

The construction of the factory will start in July and the firm aims to start production in 2023.

It did not say where the factory will be located. At one time it had indicated that it may build a second plant in the state of Georgia.

It will make a further investment in its second US factory, bringing total spending to about $1.5 billion, an SK Innovation spokesperson told Reuters, but did not give a timeframe.

The company is currently building its first factory in the United States, in Georgia, with a planned investment of 1.2 trillion won ($903 million).

The 9.8 GWh factory will serve Volkswagen’s EV base in neighbouring Tennessee, with production on track to begin in 2022.

The proposed No.2 plant will have an annual capacity of 11.7 gigawatt-hours of batteries.

SK Innovation, South Korea’s biggest oil refiner, has rapidly expanded into EV batteries, with factories in South Korea, China and Hungary.

The South Korean firm is involved  in a legal battle in the United States with LG Chem Ltd , in which a win for LG Chem could stop SK Innovation importing EV batteries and components.

With Inputs from Reuters