US$5 Bil. Investment in Battery Plant in Georgia
SK Innovation is considering making additional investment in electric vehicle (EV) battery production facilities in the United States. SK Innovation has been building an EV battery factory since March last year in Commerce City, Jackson County, Georgia of the United States.
The plant is capable of producing 9.8 GWh batteries annually and is scheduled to start volume production in early 2022.
SK Innovation announced on Jan. 16 that SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won’s plan to invest US$5 billion in the EV battery factory in Georgia is becoming a reality.
Currently, the plant is under construction on a site of approximately 1.1 million square meters in Commerce City. Construction is likely to be completed in the second half of 2021. This will complete SK Innovation’s global production system along with plants in China and Hungary, which will enter a commercial operation this year.
SK Innovation's EV production capacity will jump from the current 19.7 GWh (for 400,000 pure EVs) to 60 GWh (for 1.2 million pure EVs). The company aims to become a global leader by boosting its production capacity to more than 100 GWh by 2025.
SK Innovation plans to produce batteries for “third-generation EVs” by incorporating cutting-edge battery technology into the Georgia plant. Third-generation EVs can run more than 500 kilometers on a single charge, providing a mileage equivalent to that of internal combustion engine-powered vehicles. The company plans to produce a prototype of third-generation EV batteries in mid-2021, and will begin mass production of the battery in 2022. In particular, SK Innovation is enhancing collaboration with SK IE Technology, an SK Group affiliate specializing in materials such as battery separators.