SKC to Invest 800 Billion Won to Establish Copper Foil Factory in Europe (Comprehensive)

European Factory Site Likely in Poland... Construction Scheduled for Second Half of Year
Expansion of Copper Foil Production to 250,000 Tons by 2025
SK Nexilis to Become World's Largest Copper Foil Producer by Securing Overseas Production Base

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SKC is building a new copper foil factory in Europe following Malaysia. Copper foil is a key material for secondary batteries. This expansion is aimed at responding to the rapidly growing electric vehicle market, and SKC plans to increase its production capacity overseas in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States to a maximum of 250,000 tons by 2025, more than five times the current scale.

SK Nexilis, a copper foil manufacturer wholly owned by SKC, announced on the 26th that its board of directors has approved an investment of 800 billion KRW to establish a copper foil factory in Europe with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons.

Poland is being considered as the primary location for the European expansion. SK Nexilis will quickly complete investment condition negotiations with the Polish government and finalize the location. Poland offers excellent customer accessibility. Four major global battery manufacturers are located in Poland or neighboring countries. The available land is also larger than the site of the Malaysian factory, providing good potential for expansion.

The investment location is expected to be finalized as early as next month. Subsequently, preliminary preparations such as design and permits will begin, with construction starting in the second half of the year and completion targeted for 2024. Once the European factory is completed, SKC's copper foil production capacity will total 152,000 tons.

SK Nexilis is accelerating its expansion due to demand increasing faster than expected. According to SNE Research, the electric vehicle battery market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 38% until 2025. To expand supply, the commercial operation of the Jeongeup 5th factory, which is under expansion, has been advanced by six months to start full operation in June, and the schedule for the 6th factory under construction is also being moved up. SK Nexilis plans to actively consider investment in the United States after starting construction of the European factory.

An SKC official said, "SK Nexilis will expand its production capacity to more than 200,000 tons, the largest in the world, by 2025, becoming a global leader in both technology and production capacity," adding, "We are also considering adding 50,000 tons of production capacity to establish a 250,000-ton system by 2025."

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