Charge of SK... Opens Era of 3 Million Electric Vehicles with 'K-Battery'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Despite the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the three 'K-battery' companies have secured production capacity capable of supplying 3 million electric vehicles through steady facility investments. It is evaluated that the 'K-battery' companies, boasting the world's strongest technology, have both technological and scale competitiveness.

According to the industry on the 25th, SK Innovation completed the construction of its 10GWh-scale electric vehicle battery production plant in Yancheng, China, at the end of last month and began full-scale operation this month. As a result, SK Innovation's electric vehicle battery production capacity increased to a total of 30GWh through its plants in Komarom, Hungary; Seosan, Korea; Changzhou, China; and Yancheng, China. SK proactively started construction of the Yancheng plant at the end of last year in preparation for the increasing volume in China and completed it within a year. With the completion of the Yancheng plant, SK has established a global battery production system capable of supplying about 500,000 electric vehicles. Not stopping there, SK Innovation plans to increase the Yancheng plant's production capacity by another 10GWh next year, expanding it to 20GWh. Additionally, it is constructing a 10GWh-scale Battery Plant 1 in Georgia, USA, scheduled to begin operation in early 2022. There are also plans to build a second plant in Georgia, aiming to increase battery production capacity to 100GWh by 2025.

LG Chem also secured a production capacity of 120GWh this year, enough to supply 2 million electric vehicles, across global production bases in Korea, China, Poland, and the USA. This figure is about 20GWh higher than the 100GWh scale it had announced it would secure by the end of this year. The expansion of LG Chem's production capacity is interpreted as a result of Tesla's continuously increasing demand. As the production of export vehicles, Model 3, and the mass production of the SUV-type Model Y at Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory are imminent, LG Chem's battery supply volume has also increased accordingly. In particular, LG Chem is known to have secured the entire battery supply for Tesla's Model Y electric vehicles produced in China next year.

Samsung SDI is also expected to secure production facilities of 30GWh scale by the end of this year. It is expanding the line at its G?d plant in Hungary. Currently, four lines are operating at the Hungary plant, and Samsung SDI plans to establish four new lines applying new manufacturing methods. Among these, two lines with a total capacity of 10GWh will be completed first. Once all four lines are completed, Samsung SDI's total electric vehicle battery production capacity will increase to about 40GWh.

An industry official explained, "The production capacity of K-battery companies is expected to increase to a total of 180GWh by the end of this year," adding, "This is a scale capable of supplying 3 million electric vehicles."