It was only a few months ago that South Korean EV battery manufacturer SK Innovation was mired in a legal battle with its rival, LG Chem, one that threatened the company’s plans to finish its new production facility in Georgia. The two managed to reach a settlement at the last minute, paving the way for the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning battery maker to continue its rapid expansion, which recently included a production joint venture with Ford dubbed BlueOvalSK. Last month, Ford Authority reported that SK Innovation was also mulling the idea of increasing its production and spinning off its battery division as a way to raise additional funds for expansion, and now, it’s making good on those plans.
SK will indeed spin-off its battery business amid rising demand for electric vehicles, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The company will form a new standalone business dubbed SK Battery this coming October, if the plan is approved by shareholders when a vote is taken on September 16th. Spinning off its battery business will make it easier for SK to raise funds for its planned production expansion as it aims to increase output from its current rate of 40GWh to 200 GWh by 2025 and 500 GWh by 2030.
“The decision to split the businesses is to set up a management system that will help to strengthen their competitiveness,” SK said in a statement. “They will be able to better respond to the business environment to make timely investment decisions.”
In addition to spinning off its battery production business, SK Innovation also announced that it plans to create a new entity to house its oil exploration and production operations, which will become wholly-owned subsidiaries.
In the meantime, Ford is investing heavily in electric vehicles as it aims to produce its own EV batteries and IonBoost power systems in-house in the coming years, and recently announced the creation of a battery research and development center called Ford Ion Park.
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