SK On and Ford held a groundbreaking ceremony for an EV battery manufacturing mega campus in the United States as it embarks on steps to expand leadership in the global EV market.
On Dec 5 (EST), BlueOval SK hosted the groundbreaking of BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, where some 400 state, community, business leaders and residents gathered to celebrate the official commencement of construction on the dedicated EV battery manufacturing complex.
SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, SK On President Jee Dong-seob and BlueOval SK CEO David Hahm, Ford Workforce Development Director Liliana Ramirez and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear were among the attendees at the event. The major guests also took a part in a beam signing ceremony to commemorate the construction.
“Right here in Kentucky, Ford and SK are joining forces to lead the future of the EV industry,” SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey said. “We will be manufacturing the safest and the most reliable batteries in the world. Over the next two years, BlueOval SK will build the biggest and most advanced plants for EV batteries, and Kentucky will become a vital center for the future of clean mobility.”
“Ford’s roots run deep in Kentucky, and BlueOval SK is going to help Ford to lead the EV revolution, bringing thousands of new, high-tech jobs to the Bluegrass State,” said Lisa Drake, vice president, Ford EV Industrialization.
“As both the largest economic development project in our state’s history and part of the biggest investment ever by Ford, this project cements Kentucky’s status as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.
BlueOval SK was officially established in July after SK On, which boasts the world’s top class battery technology capabilities, and major American automaker Ford, which has a long, rich history of 120 years of manufacturing cars, decided to join hands to spearhead the global EV industry.
SK On and Ford announced in September 2021 that they will invest $11.4 billion to build two new massive and technologically advanced campuses in Kentucky and Tennessee with three battery plants to be made and operated via BlueOval SK.
BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, so far boasts the largest production capacity for a single battery campus in the U.S. as the site encompasses twin EV battery plants capable of producing up to 43 gigawatt hours (GWh) each for a total of 86Gwh annually. Groundwork and steel erection are underway at the $5.8 billion, 1,500-acre complex. Once completed, the two plants are scheduled to churn out batteries powering next generation electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles starting from the first quarter of 2025 after trial runs.
“BlueOval SK Battery Park will be at the core of the electrification of the North American auto market,” SK On President Jee Dong-seob said. “We expect SK On and Ford’s leadership in the global electric vehicle market to be solidified through BlueOval SK.
A $5.6 billion mega campus in Stanton, Tennessee, called BlueOval City, will house a 43GWh battery plant along with Ford’s EV assembly factory and supplier facilities on a 3,600-acre site. The battery plant in Tennessee is also scheduled to break ground within this year with production also projected to start in 2025.
In total, three BlueOval SK battery plants are expected to produce 129 GWh annually, which is enough to power about 1.2 million units of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the electric version of America’s best-selling pickup.
Combining the production capacity of the BlueOval SK plants with SK On’s two other EV battery plants in Georgia, the South Korean battery maker will be able to produce 150 GWh annually in the U.S. alone in 2025.
SK On and Ford aim to create about 11,000 jobs through the mega campuses in Kentucky and Tennessee.
As a part of their plan to beef up recruitment, BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, will have all-new Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) BlueOval SK Training Center on the site by 2024. The 42,000 square-foot center will train some 5,000 workers on knowledge, skills and roles related to battery manufacturing.
“At BlueOval SK Battery Park, we’re building the future – state-of-the-art batteries for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles and a bright future for the workforce in Kentucky,” said David Hahm, BlueOval SK CEO. “In order to produce these batteries, we need a premier workforce that is trained in the latest battery and advanced manufacturing technology.”
For SK On, the JV with Ford will extend its contribution to job growth and economic development in the U.S. The battery maker’s U.S. arm, SK Battery America, already built two plants in the state of Georgia, hiring more than 2,000 people.
SK On’s U.S. investments are also expected to bring “shared growth” with its South Korean partners. SK On has been helping its vendors and suppliers entering overseas market by using their products and equipment at its new facilities.
SK On is the largest fifth battery maker this year with a 6.2 percent market share. The company is one of the fastest growing battery makers in the world as it ranked ninth in terms of market share in 2019.
In particular, SK On has been showing robust growth in North America. According to market tracker SNE Research, the usage of SK On batteries in North America reached 5.4GWh in the January-October period, up 646% from the same period a year earlier. Its market share in the region jumped from seventh to fourth in the cited period, apparently due to brisk sales of SK On battery-equipped EVs like the F-150 Lightning, Hyundai IONIQ5 and Kia EV6.
SK On’s battery production capacity is to reach 77GWh at the end of this year, 45 times larger than 1.7GWh in 2017. SK On aims to become the global No. 1 by securing production capacity of 500GWh by 2030.
