SK Nexilis, a subsidiary of SK Group chemicals group SKC, has agreed to establish a joint venture in North America with Japan’s Toyota Tsusho to produce battery grade copper foil for the region’s fast growing electric vehicle (EV) industry.
Under a memorandum of understanding, the pair have committed to invest in a new factory and work together developing long term supply deals and sourcing raw materials.
Plant location and timing were not yet decided.
SK Nexilis claims to produce the world's thinnest copper foil plus widest and longest rolls of 1.4m and up to 77km respectively. Copper foil is a key anode component used in lithium ion battery cells.
It was positioning as a key supply to EV battery makers and planning global capacity to 250,000 tons of foil per year in the medium term.
Along with factories in South Korea, SK Nexilis is building a plant in Malaysia which should be completed towards the end of this year and a factory in Poland expected to be operational some time in 2024.
