SK Innovation is investing US$1.15bn in SK Battery Hungary (SKBH) to build a third factory in Europe.
The plant is expected to be constructed in Iváncsa, Hungary, with a production capacity of 30 GWh per year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The first and second European plants are also located in Hungary (Komárom) and the expected third plant will be the largest investment. It will be possible to supply batteries for around 430,000 cars based on 70 kWh per charging with more than 400km drive.
For the third European plant, whose construction will start in the third quarter this year and will last until 2028, a total of US$2.29bn is expected to be spent as construction cost. This is half the anticipated total investments. The company plans to finance the project externally according to its construction schedule.
SK Innovation management held a video conference with the Hungarian government to formalise the investment on 29 January, where Szijjártó Péter (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Ésik Róbert (Head of Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency), Kim Jun (CEO of SK Innovation) and Jee Dong-seob (president of SK Innovation’s Battery Business), were present.
The company says battery demands in European markets are expected to increase more than six times to 256 GWh in 2025 from the current 41 GWh.
