In this photo provided by SK On Co., Park Jong-jin (R), executive vice president in charge of battery materials’ strategic procurement at the Korean battery firm, shakes hands with Dan Holton, senior vice president with ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, on the sidelines of the 2024 Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference in Las Vegas on June 24, 2024 (U.S. time). (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — SK On Co., the battery unit of chip-to-construction conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has signed an initial pact with ExxonMobil Corp. for a stable supply of lithium for its EV battery manufacturing.
SK On signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ExxonMobil to secure U.S.-produced lithium on the sidelines of this year’s Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference held in Last Vegas on Monday (U.S. time).
Under the MOU, SK On is expected to receive up to 100,000 metric tons of lithium extracted by ExxonMobil from a salt lake in Arkansas, the company said in a statement.
But it did not provide the contract period and the supply volume.
ExxonMobil began the extraction of lithium, a core material required to manufacture car batteries, in Arkansas in November as it aims to supply lithium that can power 1 million EVs annually from 2030, the statement said.
“This collaboration with SK On demonstrates the leading role we play in the growing market for domestically sourced lithium, advancing energy security and climate objectives, as well as supporting American manufacturing,” Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said in the statement.
SK On has expanded its pool of key battery raw materials suppliers. The company expects the MOU with ExxonMobil will help it benefit from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The IRA gives up to $7,500 in tax credits to EV buyers whose vehicles were assembled in North America and made with minerals mined and processed in the U.S. or countries or regions that have free trade agreements with Washington.
SK On, which is 89.5 percent owned by SK Innovation Co., currently operates one domestic plant and seven overseas plants — two in Hungary, two in the United States and three in China.
It is adding one plant in Hungary and one in China this year, and four more plants with its partners in the U.S. after 2025.
(Yonhap)
