SKC and Nexilis to Build Electric Vehicle Battery Material Factory in Malaysia: "World's Largest by 2025"

Copper foil product manufactured by SK Nexilis

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] SKC announced on the 22nd that its electric vehicle battery copper foil investment company SK Nexilis has signed a land lease memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Malaysian authorities. They plan to establish a production base locally and commence commercial operations around 2023. Subsequently, they aim to make additional investments to achieve the world's largest production capacity by 2025.

The signing ceremony, held online in the afternoon, was attended by SKC President Lee Wan-jae, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, and Sabah State Governor Hajiji Noor. Under this agreement, SKC and SK Nexilis will build a factory in the KKIP (Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

President Lee Wan-jae stated, "This investment signifies 'securing absolute competitiveness' and 'starting global growth' for SKC's copper foil business. We will do our best to grow together with Kota Kinabalu, our joint destiny partner, and become a company loved by the local citizens."

On-site were SK Nexilis CEO Kim Young-tae, SKC BM Innovation Promotion Team Leader Kim Jong-woo, and SK Nexilis Global Expansion Headquarters Director Shin Dong-hwan. Both parties agreed to promptly sign a contract for the Malaysian corporation to lease approximately 400,000 square meters of land within the KKIP industrial park for 30 years.

KKIP was selected as SKC's copper foil business's first overseas production base due to its well-established infrastructure, including ports, an international airport, gas, and water supply. The low and stable electricity costs make it advantageous for implementing RE100, which uses only renewable energy. The factory is planned to be the industry's first to fully implement RE100.

SKC will invest 700 billion KRW here to begin constructing a production base with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons this year. Once commercial operations start in 2023, SKC's copper foil production capacity for secondary batteries will reach approximately 102,000 tons, about three times the current 34,000 tons.

Furthermore, SKC and SK Nexilis plan to expand production capacity more than fivefold by 2025 to secure the world's largest production capacity. They are reviewing follow-up investments targeting Malaysia, Europe, and the United States, aiming to finalize investment plans within this year. Notably, all follow-up investment regions will also implement RE100. This is to practice ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and proactively respond to customer requests.

An SKC official said, "To meet the increasing demand for high-quality battery foil, we have maintained a 100% operating rate at SK Nexilis's Jeongeup plant since last year and are working to expedite the operation of the fifth plant under construction. Starting with Malaysia, we will expand production capacity to the world's largest scale while prioritizing RE100 implementation throughout the process."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.