SK Innovation’s electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Seosan, South Korea (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 17 (Korea Bizwire) – SK Innovation Co., the country’s top oil refiner, said Thursday that it plans to expand its electric vehicle (EV) battery production capacity to meet growing demand.
According to the company, the annual production at its first EV facility in Seosan, some 150 kilometers south of Seoul, will be increased to 40,000 units from the current 30,000.
Last July, SK Innovation already doubled its EV battery-making capacity at the plant. SK Innovation said it already has an order backlog that will keep it busy for seven years.
SK Innovation has been pushing for the EV battery business since 2008 by expanding its global outreach as part of efforts to find a new income source.
The company provides lithium-ion batteries for EVs produced by Kia Motors and China’s state-run Beijing Automotive Industries Holdings.
Recently, the company finalized a deal to supply its EV batteries to Mercedes-Benz‘s EV cars starting in 2017, the latest in a series of its EV battery supply deals.
In South Korea, LG Chem Ltd., a major chemicals and battery firm under the LG Group, and Samsung SDI Co., a chemical unit under Samsung Group, are the top two EV battery producers, having clinched several deals with leading automakers over the past years.’
(Yonhap)
