SK Innovation to invest 580 bln won to build 2nd EV battery plant in China

SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- SK Innovation Co., South Korea's top oil refiner, said Wednesday it will invest 580 billion won (US$487 million) to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in China.

In a regulatory filing, SK Innovation, a latecomer to the EV battery sector, said that it will set up a new battery production base in China to expand its business in the world's second-largest economy. The location and production capacity of the new plant, its second EV battery plant in China, has yet to be determined.

Last August, it started to build the 7.5 gigawatt-hour capacity (GWh) EV plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, along with BAIC Motor Corporation., Ltd. and Beijing Electronics Holding Co., Ltd.

SK Innovation has been aggressively investing into its EV battery business in recent years. Last November, the company said it will spend 1.14 trillion won to build another EV battery plant in the United States. The 9.8 GWh battery plant, which will be located in Jackson County, Georgia, plans to begin production in 2022.

SK Innovation is also building a battery plant in Hungary. With their production bases overseas, the company aims to have a production capacity of 60 GWh by 2022. As of the end of March, the company's accumulated order backlog is estimated at 430 GWh.

SK Innovation has moved into the EV battery business since 2008 as part of its efforts to diversify its operations and find new revenue sources.

According to the data by SNE Research, a market researcher on renewable energy, SK Innovation was ranked world No. 9 in terms of EV battery sales during the first quarter of this year.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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