Hankook & Company, the holding company of tyre manufacturer Hankook Tire & Technology, announced it made its first foray into the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain by investing in domestic battery materials producer JR Energy Solution.
Hankook said it made a KRW9bn (US$6.5bn) Series A investment in the battery electrode foundry company located in Chungcheongbuk-do 100km south west of Seoul. The investment made Hankook the company’s third largest shareholder with a stake of just over 15%.
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JR Energy Solution started operations at its first electrode foundry in South Korea earlier this year using technology licensed from Enevate Corporation, a US company specialising in ultra fast battery charging based in Irvine, California.
Last year, JR Energy Solution announced plans to expand into the US by building an advanced electrode plant in partnership with Enevate.
As a major global tyre manufacturer, Hankook has a significant presence in automotive distribution and aftermarkets and is already active in the lead acid battery industry through its subsidiary Hankook AtlasBX Company which it said provided a strong foundation for its new venture into the secondary battery market.
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