South Korea-based electric vehicles (EVs) battery company SK On has announced an investment of up to KRW1.5 trillion ($1.1bn) to expand its EV battery plant in Seosan City, South Korea.
In this regard, the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Seosan City and the provincial government of Hongseong-gun in the South Chungcheong Province.
Through the investment, SK On plans to expand its third plant on a site covering about 44,125m2 within the Seosan Auto Valley complex.
The administrative and financial support, including authorisation and approval for the EV battery facility expansion, will be provided by South Chungcheong Province and Seosan City.
South Chungcheong Governor Kim Tae-Heum said: “SK On is forging the path towards future energy via technological innovation.”
SK On aims to complete the expansion of the third EV plant by 2025.
Following the completion of the expansion, the company will undertake required tasks like replacement of equipment and process improvement. This will help the third plant to achieve a maximum production capacity of up to 14GWh progressively by 2028, said SK On.
As a result of the project, the South Korean company’s total domestic annual production capacity will be about 20GWh, which will be sufficient to power nearly 280,000 EVs per year.
The third plant is anticipated to bring new job opportunities to the locals and to have a ripple effect on domestic battery equipment and raw materials suppliers.
Besides, SK On said that a significant proportion of the investment in the third plant will be committed to the procurement of battery equipment purchasing.
SK On CEO Jee Dong-seob said: “From the standpoint of bolstering the nation’s capacity for domestic battery production, this investment carries considerable significance.”
