2025 Target of 700GWh Orders with a 'Pre-order, Post-expansion' Strategy
Establishment of Plants in Hungary and Changzhou, China... Georgia Plant in the U.S. to be Completed by the End of Next Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] SK Innovation has surpassed a battery order backlog of 500GWh (gigawatt-hours) by continuing an aggressive order strategy to meet the explosively increasing demand for electric vehicle batteries. The amount is approximately 60 trillion KRW.
SK Innovation announced on the 22nd that as of the end of 2019, its electric vehicle battery order backlog recorded 500GWh, a 56.25% increase compared to the same period last year (320GWh).
SK plans to expand its current order backlog of 500GWh to 700GWh by 2025. The company aims to secure a production capacity of 100GWh (equivalent to 2 million electric vehicles) by accelerating plant expansions by 2025. This is a 'pre-order, post-expansion' strategy.
Recently, SK Innovation completed plants with a capacity of 7.5GWh each in Kom?rom, Hungary, and Changzhou, China, expanding total production capacity to 20GWh, enough to supply 400,000 electric vehicles. Additionally, the company has set a goal to establish an additional plant with a 20GWh production capacity in Yancheng, China (planned) by the end of this year, bringing total production capacity to 40GWh.
The 9.8GWh plant under construction in Georgia, USA, is also scheduled to be completed by the end of next year. This will bring the total production facilities to 50GWh, capable of producing 1 million electric vehicles annually. SK is also planning a second plant expansion in the U.S. in response to additional orders.
As production capacity increases, shipment volume has also shown a rapid upward trend, achieving the milestone of entering the global top 10 for the first time based on shipment volume.
According to EV Volume, a specialized battery market research firm, SK Innovation's battery shipment volume last year was 3.5GWh, ranking 7th globally. Industry experts predict that if the current trend continues, SK Innovation could threaten AESC (a joint venture between Japan's Nissan and China's NCE), ranked 5th to 6th in global electric vehicle battery usage in 2021, as well as Samsung SDI.
SK Innovation plans to target global automakers based on differentiated technology grounded in price competitiveness. Using the 'NCM9 1/2 1/2' technology developed last year, SK has completed the development of a 3rd generation electric vehicle battery capable of driving over 500 km on a single charge. This secures a driving range comparable to internal combustion engine vehicles, allowing travel from Seoul to Busan without recharging.
An SK Innovation official stated, "As the electric vehicle market fully blooms, the Chinese government will face policy burdens in maintaining the numerous battery companies that have sprung up due to subsidy policies. When subsidy benefits disappear, most companies will be consolidated, and ultimately only companies with technology and production capacity will survive. SK will be a company that has secured technology, production capacity, and trust."
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