SK Inno, Chinese Battery Company Establishes Cathode Material Joint Venture Plant

Total Investment of 350 Billion KRW, SK Inno Secures 25% Stake

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Innovation is establishing a cathode material joint venture factory in China together with China’s EVE Energy. This is to stably supply materials for electric vehicle battery production within China.

According to industry sources on the 18th, China’s EVE Energy held a board meeting on the 17th (local time) and announced the approval of a joint investment plan with SK Innovation and Jiangsu BTR New Material Technology.

The joint venture’s total investment amount is approximately 350 billion KRW, with SK Innovation holding 25%, EVE Energy 24%, and BTR 51% of the shares. The joint factory’s annual cathode material production capacity will be up to 50,000 tons.

Currently, SK Innovation is promoting the construction of a battery factory with an annual capacity of 20?25 GWh together with EVE Energy, and is operating the battery cell factory ‘BEST’ built in partnership with Beijing Automotive and Beijing Electric Works. With the establishment of this cathode material joint venture factory, they plan to stably procure cathode materials necessary for battery factories in China.

BTR is a subsidiary of China’s Baoan Group that develops battery cathode materials. It possesses cathode material technologies for nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM), nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA), and lithium iron phosphate (LFP).