SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) — South Korean battery maker SK Innovation Co. and US automaker Ford Co. said Tuesday they will invest 13 trillion won ($11 billion) to build three electric vehicle (EV) battery plants, by 2025, in United State.
The two companies said in a statement that the two companies’ joint venture, called BlueOvalSk, will build a battery and assembly complex in Tennessee and two additional battery plants in Kentucky, marking the largest investment in Ford’s 118-year history.
The combined production capacity of the three plants will be 129 gigawatt-hours (GWh), which is enough to supply batteries with 2.15 million VE annually.
SK Innovation will invest 5.1 trillion won ($4.315 billion) over the next five years, while Ford will cover the rest.
SK Innovation, a battery unit and refinery of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, SK Group, is building a $2.6 billion battery plant in Georgia, which will supply batteries starting next year. For Ford F-150 . Electric Vehicle
Along with the additional plants, the joint venture company SK Innovation said it will become the largest supplier of batteries in the United States, with combined capacity of more than 150 gigawatt-hours by 2025.
SK Innovation, the sixth-largest battery maker, previously said it has achieved 1,000 gigawatt-hours of electric battery orders, estimated at 130 trillion won ($109.969 billion), and has been leading the expansion of partnerships with major automakers.
SK Innovation will split its battery unit on Friday to promote the new growth engine as part of its plan to invest 30 billion won ($25 million) by 2025 to transition from a carbon-intensive model to an environmental business.
“Beeraholic. Friend of animals everywhere. Evil web scholar. Zombie maven.”