Investment Cooperation with Geely Auto Group
SK Holdings, the holding company of SK Group, is pushing for joint investment in eco-friendly automobile infrastructure with Geely Auto Group, China's largest automaker.
The exact size of the planned joint investment is under wraps, but it is said to be around hundreds of billions of won. Global companies operating in China will also participate in the joint investment project. Their investment targets under discussion reportedly include hydrogen car infrastructure.
SK Holdings’ cooperation with Geely Auto Group may lead to its collaboration with Baidu, China’s largest internet portal company, as Geely Auto Group has recently decided to establish "Baidu Motor" with Baidu.
The Chinese search giant has been developing self-driving car technology under the “Apollo” project since 2017. It has recently jumped directly into the production of smart cars.
Geely Auto Group has been the largest shareholder of Daimler of Germany since 2018. It acquired Volvo from Ford in 2010. The automaker recently announced that it will establish a joint venture with Farasis, a Chinese battery company, and increase its annual battery production to 120GWh in the future.
If SK Group realizes cooperation with Geely Auto Group, SK Group's strategy to expand its electric and hydrogen vehicle infrastructure will gain strong momentum. SK Holdings recently selected four future growth drivers: high-tech materials, green, biotechnology, and digital. In particular, SK Holdings and SK E&S, an SK Group affiliate in the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired power generation business, recently jumped into the hydrogen energy business in earnest. They plan to produce 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen annually starting from 2023 and mass-produce 250,000 tons of blue hydrogen annually by utilizing natural gas starting from 2025.