SK Innovation launches its first out of several new battery plants on its road to become a major player globally.
The South Korean lithium-ion battery manufacturer SK Innovation officially completed its first Chinese cell plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
The 7.5 GWh factory, dubbed BEST, is a joint venture project with China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings (BAIC) and Beijing Electronics Holding. SK Innovation holds 49% share, while the other two companies 51%.
The production should start next year, after "test operation and product approvals", to supply BAIC's EV plans.
"The BEST plant commanding a space of 168,000 square meters in Changzhou will have a full capacity of 7.5 gigawatt-hours to power 150,000 electric vehicles per year when fully operational. "
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Together with its 4.7 GWh plant in South Korea, SK Innovation will have an output of 12.2 GWh, but as another 7.5 GWh plant will be completed soon in Hungary, Europe, the total production capacity will be up to 19.7 GWh annually.
Some sources say that production in China will be NMC811 chemistry with an energy density of up to 260 Wh/kg:
Updated list of SK Innovation battery projects and production capacity roadmap:
- Existing 4.7 GWh plant in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea
- new 7.5 GWh battery plant in Changzhou, China (expected online in H1 2020)
- new 7.5 GWh battery plant in Hungary (expected online in H1 2020)
- new battery plant (plan) in Yancheng, China
- new battery plant in U.S. (expected online in 2022)
- second battery plant in Komarom, Hungary (expected online in 2022)
- new LiBS plant in China (expected online in H2 2020)
- new LiBS plant in Poland (expected online in Q3 2021)
SK Innovation production capacity roadmap:
- Today: around 5 GWh annually
- by the end of 2019: 20 GWh annually
- 2020: 40 GWh annually
- 2022: 60 GWh annually
- 2025: 100 GWh annually and an order backlog of 700 GWh
Source: pulsenews.co.kr
