SK On receives funding for battery cell plant in Hungary
SK On, the battery division of the South Korean company SK Innovation spun off at the beginning of October 2021, can count on millions in funding for the construction of a third battery cell plant in Hungary. The EU Commission confirmed that it has approved state aid for this amounting to 209 million euros.
The plant is to be built in Iváncsa in the Közép-Dunántúl region. According to the information from the EU Commission’s communication, it will have an annual capacity of 30 GWh and provide at least 1,900 direct jobs. With this, the EU confirms the information provided by SK On when the plans for the plant were published in January 2021. According to the information at that time, the final expansion is to be reached in 2028.
SK On Hungary applied for aid in the amount mentioned in December 2021. The company itself will invest a total of €1.623 billion in the project, which started in early 2021. The subsidy will “contribute to the development of this area and the creation of jobs without unduly affecting competition”, as the EU Commission justifies its decision.
For SK On, Iváncsa is already the third battery factory in Hungary. The Korean company has been operating a factory in Komárom for several years. The second factory, for which funding was approved in summer 2021, is also being built at this location.
What kind of cells SK On will produce in Iváncsa is open. So far, the manufacturer has specialised in pouch cells with NMC chemistry. According to information from the end of October 2021, SK On is also developing LFP batteries for electric vehicles. The cheaper and more stable batteries are receiving increasing attention, partly due to the continuing rise in the price of base materials such as cobalt. At the time, the company expected its battery business to be profitable this year.
SK Innovation had officially completed the spin-off of its battery business on 1 October 2021. The now-independent battery division of the South Korean company is headed by Jee Dong-seob.
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