On February 13, South Korean battery company SK On announced a conditional supply agreement with U.S. battery cathode material supplier Westwater Resources to secure battery-grade natural graphite in North America.
Westwater Resources, established in 1977, holds exploration and mining rights in the 17,000-hectare Coosa graphite mining area in Alabama. SK On and Westwater Resources have a joint development agreement to develop environmentally friendly high-performance cathode materials suitable for SK On batteries.
The agreement allows SK On to purchase a total of 34,000 tons of natural graphite cathode products from 2027 to 2031, processed at Westwater Resources' Kellyton Graphite Plant near Kellyton, Alabama.
SK On plans to use these materials for battery production at its U.S. factories.
Currently, SK On operates two power battery factories in Georgia and has formed a joint venture, BlueOval, with Ford to build three battery factories in the United States.
The total capacity of the three SK On and Ford joint-venture factories is 129 GWh, with the Tennessee factory having an annual capacity of 43 GWh, and the two factories in Kentucky having a combined annual capacity of 86 GWh. In addition,
SK On has a joint venture with Hyundai Motor in Georgia, U.S., to build a power battery factory.
SK On believes that the signing of this agreement will strengthen its supply chain in North America and align with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requirements for the domestic procurement of battery components and critical minerals.
Park Jong-jin, Deputy General Manager responsible for strategic procurement at SK On, stated that the company will continue seeking collaboration with potential battery material companies in North America.
If you have any questions regarding the industry data, or the news (e.g. how this can affect your business). Please feel free to reach out to me:
Robin He
SMM Li-ion Battery Materials Department
E: robinhe@smm.cn | T: +86-21-51595884
