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Released April 07, 2021 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery maker SK Innovation (Seoul, Korea) has announced plans to build two new plants in Poland for manufacturing separators used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
The plants will join two others in the Silesia region of the country to greatly increase the production of lithium-ion separators (LiBS) and ceramic coated separators (CCS). Industrial Info is tracking the construction of Tucznawa plants 1 and 2, with a combined investment value of more than $400 million. Plant 1 is expected to be commissioned later this year, with Plant 2 expected to come online in early 2023. Each plant will be capable of producing 340 million square meters (m2) of LiBS and 130 million m2 of CCS for a total of 470 million m2 of separators. SK Innovation's battery unit, SK IE Technology, stated that the predicted output from Plant 1 is already sold out. Separators are core EV battery components that influence performance and safety and account for up to 20% of a battery's cost. SK's EV battery customers include Mercedes, Hyundai-Kia, Ford and Volkswagen.
The company stated that the new plants will cost $1.1 billion, it's largest single investment to date, and will boost separator capacity by 860 million m2 per year. This will bring its annual production capacity from Poland to more than 1.5 billion m2.
"The reason why SK IE Technology is making such large-scale investments is to take preemptive measures on the highly increased purchase demand from related industries of the rapidly growing EV battery market," the company claimed. "Fire accidents have continuously occurred on EV batteries recently, and separator damage is said to be one of the causes of the fire. The fact that batteries that used SK's separators never caught fire has been noticed in the industry, and the demand to secure safety-certified separators has largely increased."
In 2019, Industrial Info reported that SK Innovation was investing a further 750 million euros ($859 million) to build a second battery plant in Hungary, alongside its existing battery plant in Komarom. The first plant was commissioned last year with an annual production capacity of 7.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh)--enough for 250,000 EVs. The second plant is expected to go live next year with a capacity of 9.8 GWh. For additional information, see March 13, 2019, article - SK Innovation To Build Second EV Battery Plant in Hungary. At the start of this year, the company confirmed plans to build a third Hungarian plant--its largest yet--at Iváncsa. The plant will cost $1.1 billion to construct and will have a capacity of 30 GWh.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
The plants will join two others in the Silesia region of the country to greatly increase the production of lithium-ion separators (LiBS) and ceramic coated separators (CCS). Industrial Info is tracking the construction of Tucznawa plants 1 and 2, with a combined investment value of more than $400 million. Plant 1 is expected to be commissioned later this year, with Plant 2 expected to come online in early 2023. Each plant will be capable of producing 340 million square meters (m2) of LiBS and 130 million m2 of CCS for a total of 470 million m2 of separators. SK Innovation's battery unit, SK IE Technology, stated that the predicted output from Plant 1 is already sold out. Separators are core EV battery components that influence performance and safety and account for up to 20% of a battery's cost. SK's EV battery customers include Mercedes, Hyundai-Kia, Ford and Volkswagen.
The company stated that the new plants will cost $1.1 billion, it's largest single investment to date, and will boost separator capacity by 860 million m2 per year. This will bring its annual production capacity from Poland to more than 1.5 billion m2.
"The reason why SK IE Technology is making such large-scale investments is to take preemptive measures on the highly increased purchase demand from related industries of the rapidly growing EV battery market," the company claimed. "Fire accidents have continuously occurred on EV batteries recently, and separator damage is said to be one of the causes of the fire. The fact that batteries that used SK's separators never caught fire has been noticed in the industry, and the demand to secure safety-certified separators has largely increased."
In 2019, Industrial Info reported that SK Innovation was investing a further 750 million euros ($859 million) to build a second battery plant in Hungary, alongside its existing battery plant in Komarom. The first plant was commissioned last year with an annual production capacity of 7.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh)--enough for 250,000 EVs. The second plant is expected to go live next year with a capacity of 9.8 GWh. For additional information, see March 13, 2019, article - SK Innovation To Build Second EV Battery Plant in Hungary. At the start of this year, the company confirmed plans to build a third Hungarian plant--its largest yet--at Iváncsa. The plant will cost $1.1 billion to construct and will have a capacity of 30 GWh.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
