[SK Innovation]
SEOUL -- SK Innovation, a battery-making subsidiary of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group, disclosed a proactive investment to build a new overseas plant in the United States, citing the world's fast-growing electric vehicle market.
"We think about the establishment of a U.S. battery factory," SK innovation CEO Kim Jun told reporters Monday after a business meeting in Seoul. "Four places have been sorted out for our factory site," he said, adding the demand for batteries is growing fast enough to require a quick investment.
In August, Kim compared electric car batteries to the semiconductor industry which requires a pre-emptive investment to secure a technical edge against competitors. The company has boosted its capacity at home and abroad to catch up with domestic rivals LG Chem and Samsung SDI, which stepped up production to maintain their global leadership.
SK Innovation started building its battery plant in Changzhou, China after the construction of its first overseas plant in Hungary began in February after SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won promised to nurture the group's battery business as a sustainable growth engine.
SK Innovation aims to develop batteries that would allow an electric vehicle to travel more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) on a single charge by 2018 and 700 kilometers by early 2020. The company has secured a stable source of crucial minerals used to produce batteries in a commodity off-take agreement with Australian Mines which runs cobalt and nickel mines at Sconi in Queensland.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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