The plan is to lose another 171.2 billion! Lithium power giant plans to build a new plant in Yancheng and strive to be number one in the world!

South Korean giant SKI, which is about to spin off its power battery business, has decided to invest $1.06 billion (about 6.8 billion yuan) to build a fourth car battery factory in China, foreign media reported on Sept. 1.

Specifically, SKI announced on Sept. 1 that it will invest in its Chinese branch to build a new battery plant in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, which will be invested in phases from this month to December 2024. Considering that SKI's battery business will start its own business on October 1st, the investment will be launched after the establishment of the new company.

It is understood that SKI has three power battery bases in China, namely, Changzhou, Yancheng and Huizhou, with production capacity of 7GWh, 10GWh and 10GWh respectively.

Among them, Changzhou Base and Beijing Automobile Joint Venture, Yancheng Base, Huizhou Base and Yiwei Lithium Energy Joint Venture.

It is reported that the fourth battery plant in China to be built in Yancheng will be invested solely by SKI and its production capacity will exceed the first three.

SKI's battery business will be split into an independent company tentatively named SK Battery AG on Oct. 1, a move to attract investment, and the industry expects the new company to go through the IPO listing process like LG Energy Solutions.

Market position of SKI

Market data show that SKI October 13, 1962, the predecessor of SKI "Korean Petroleum" was established, at first, South Korea's first oil refining company, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. After more than 50 years of development, the company has experienced six stages of development. now SKI has six subsidiaries, which is "the first large-scale energy and chemical enterprise in Korea" and "a global energy and chemical enterprise covering oil refining, chemistry, lubricants, petroleum development, batteries and information electronic materials".

In the new energy industry, SKI dabbled in as early as 25 years ago. SKI developed the first lithium-ion battery in 1996. As an energy company, we have nearly 60 years of experience and about 30 years of experience in battery manufacturing and commercialization. SKI pioneered the first high-nickel battery, and we produce market-leading long batteries, fast charging technology, next-generation modules and battery separators. "

In terms of the power batteries needed for electric vehicles, SKI started the business of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles in 2005 and has been in production since 2006. In 2010, SKI became the designated supplier of BlueOn and Kia Ray, South Korea's first all-electric car, and two years later "supplied batteries to SLS AMG E-Cell, Mercedes-AMG's first all-electric car".

In terms of time, SKI entered the power battery market even earlier than the Ningde era (Ningde era was established in 2011).

However, SKI not only lags behind the Ningde era, but also LG Energy Solutions, Panasonic and BYD all rank ahead of SKI.

In the latest ranking of global power battery loads in July 2021, Ningde Times ranked first in 7.4GWh power battery loading, followed by LG Energy Solutions (5.1GWh), Panasonic (2.5GWh) and 2.1GWh.

SKI ranks fifth with 1.3GWh 's power battery load.

SKI's ambition

SKI's goal is to become the number one power battery company in the world.

To achieve this goal, SKI announced in early July that it would spin off the battery business and go public independently; SKI also launched a program called "1 Terawatt + α." It plans to invest 30 trillion won ($26.5 billion, about 171.2 billion yuan) within five years to "shift its business from carbon emissions to green (energy business)".

In China and Europe, SKI is betting on Chinese and European battery factories to own second-tier battery manufacturers; in North America, SKI is associated with Ford.

In terms of specific actions, in China, SKI's Changzhou 7.5GWh battery plant was completed in December 2019 and was put into operation in the second quarter of 2020, while Yancheng 20GWh battery plant and Huizhou battery plant were put into operation in the first quarter of 2021.

Now, SKI is preparing for the fourth battery factory in China in Yancheng.

In Europe, SKI's first Hungarian plant began mass production in 2020, and SKI has three more battery plants under construction in Hungary.

In North America, although the lawsuit against LG cost it $1.8 billion, the settlement allowed it to expand production in North America smoothly. It is understood that the first and second factories of SKI in Georgia are under construction.

In addition, in May, it was reported that Ford and SKI had reached an agreement to form a joint venture to produce products such as batteries and array modules in the United States. It is expected to produce 60GWh batteries and modules every year after completion.

SKI's plan is to increase power battery capacity to 200GWhh by 2025, surpassing 500GWh by 2030.

Summary

In the new energy track, the head competition is still very fierce, because these giants are willing to spend money to expand production.

Based on the basically established prospects of the new energy industry, the competition for the world's number one power battery will continue, and it is not known who will be the world's number one throne by 2025 or 2030.

SKI is a strong competitor.