SK On-Ford JV Firm to Develop EV Battery Manufacturing Complex in USA

Clean Mobility SK On-Ford JV Firm to Develop EV Battery Manufacturing Complex in USA

2022-12-14 Source: Press release SK Innovation

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Blue Oval SK – the joint venture company of SK On and Ford has recently held a ground-breaking ceremony to establish the Blue Oval SK Battery Park, an EV battery manufacturing complex in Kentucky, USA. The complex will also comprise of two EV battery plants.

SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won (4th from left), SK On CEO Jee Dong-seob and other major guests pose for a group photo at the ground-breaking ceremony of Blue Oval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, USA. (Source: SK Group) — SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won (4th from left), SK On CEO Jee Dong-seob and other major guests pose for a group photo at the ground-breaking ceremony of Blue Oval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, USA.
(Source: SK Group)

Seoul/Korea – SK On has announced that its joint venture (JV) with American auto giant Ford Motor Company recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for an EV battery manufacturing mega campus in the United States as it embarks on steps to expand leadership in the global EV market.

On Dec 5, Blue Oval SK hosted the groundbreaking ceremony of the Blue Oval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, where some 400 state, community, business leaders and residents gathered to celebrate the official commencement of construction on the dedicated EV battery manufacturing complex.

SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, SK On President Jee Dong-seob and Blue Oval SK CEO David Hahm, Ford Workforce Development Director Liliana Ramirez and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear were among the attendees at the event.

“Right here in Kentucky, Ford and SK are joining forces to lead the future of the EV industry,” SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey said. “We will be manufacturing the safest and the most reliable batteries in the world. Over the next two years, Blue Oval SK will build the biggest and most advanced plants for EV batteries, and Kentucky will become a vital center for the future of clean mobility.”

“Ford’s roots run deep in Kentucky, and Blue Oval SK is going to help Ford to lead the EV revolution, bringing thousands of new, high-tech jobs to the Bluegrass State,” said Lisa Drake, vice president, Ford EV Industrialization. Blue Oval SK was officially established in July after SK On and major American automaker Ford decided to join hands to spearhead the global EV industry.

SK On and Ford announced in September 2021 that they will invest 11.4 billion dollars to build two new massive and technologically advanced campuses in Kentucky and Tennessee with three battery plants to be made and operated via Blue Oval SK.

Blue Oval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, so far boasts of the largest production capacity for a single battery campus in the U.S. as the site encompasses twin EV battery plants capable of producing up to 43 gigawatt hours (GWh) each for a total of 86Gwh annually. Groundwork and steel erection are underway at the 5.8 billion dollar, 1,500-acre complex. Once completed, the two plants are scheduled to churn out batteries powering next generation electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles starting from the first quarter of 2025 after trial runs.

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“Blue Oval SK Battery Park will be at the core of the electrification of the North American auto market,” SK On President Jee Dong-seob said. “We expect SK On and Ford’s leadership in the global electric vehicle market to be solidified through Blue Oval SK.

A 5.6-billion-dollar mega campus in Stanton, Tennessee, called Blue Oval City, will house a 43 GWh battery plant along with Ford’s EV assembly factory and supplier facilities on a 3,600-acre site. The battery plant in Tennessee is also scheduled to break ground within this year with production also projected to start in 2025.

In total, three Blue Oval SK battery plants are expected to produce 129 GWh annually, which is enough to power about 1.2 million units of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the electric version of America’s best-selling pickup. Combining the production capacity of the Blue Oval SK plants with SK On’s two other EV battery plants in Georgia, the South Korean battery maker will be able to produce 150 GWh annually in the U.S. alone in 2025.

SK On and Ford aim to create about 11,000 jobs through the mega campuses in Kentucky and Tennessee. As a part of their plan to beef up recruitment, Blue Oval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, will have an all-new Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) Blue Oval SK Training Center on the site by 2024. The 42,000 square-foot center will train some 5,000 workers on knowledge, skills and roles related to battery manufacturing.

“At Blue Oval SK Battery Park, we’re building the future – state-of-the-art batteries for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles and a bright future for the workforce in Kentucky,” said David Hahm, Blue Oval SK CEO. “In order to produce these batteries, we need a premier workforce that is trained in the latest battery and advanced manufacturing technology.”

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For SK On, the JV with Ford will extend its contribution to job growth and economic development in the U.S. The battery maker’s U.S. arm, SK Battery America, already built two plants in the state of Georgia, hiring more than 2,000 people.

SK On’s U.S. investments are also expected to bring “shared growth” with its South Korean partners. SK On has been helping its vendors and suppliers entering overseas market by using their products and equipment at its new facilities. SK On is the largest fifth battery maker this year with a 6.2 percent market share. The company is one of the fastest growing battery makers in the world as it ranked ninth in terms of market share in 2019.

In particular, SK On has been showing robust growth in North America. According to market tracker SNE Research, the usage of SK On batteries in North America reached 5.4 GWh in the January-October period, up 646 % from the same period a year earlier. Its market share in the region jumped from seventh to fourth in the cited period, apparently due to brisk sales of SK On battery-equipped EVs like the F-150 Lightning, Hyundai IONIQ5 and Kia EV6.

SK On’s battery production capacity is to reach 77 GWh at the end of this year, 45 times larger than 1.7 GWh in 2017. SK On aims to become the global No. 1 by securing production capacity of 500 GWh by 2030.

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