SK On plans to expand battery plant in South Korea for Hyundai Electric vehicles

CTOnews.com, December 2 (Xinhua)-- SK On has begun reviewing a spending plan to expand its electric car battery factory in Ruishan, South Korea. The expansion is being considered to better meet the needs of Hyundai, which is planning to build new electric vehicle production facilities in South Korea.

SK On began to build its Ruishan plant in 2010. It was put into use in September 2012 with an annual output of 200Mwh.

The South Korean battery maker expanded its plants three times in 2014, 2015 and 2016. These expansion projects were completed in September 2018 to ensure that SK On's annual production capacity in Ruishan reaches 5GWh.

If SK On approves its latest spending plan, it will be its first plant in South Korea in five years.

The company is verifying whether it can get the equipment and parts needed to expand the plant. CTOnews.com has been informed that construction is likely to begin in the second half of 2023, with a target completion date of 2025.

According to sources, SK On may add four production lines to increase Ruishan's production by 10GWh, which will bring its total output to annual 15GWh. This means that the plant will be able to supply enough 250000 units of batteries a year.

SK On also has factories in China, Hungary and the United States to provide services to local car companies.