Ford·SK Ino 'Battery Alliance'... Joint Attack on European Electric Vehicle Market Following the US

Joint Venture BlueOvalSK
Expands from US to Europe
SK Innovation Adds Ford Joint Plant
Following Hungary Komarom Site

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min, Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The electric vehicle battery company jointly established by Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation will target not only the U.S. but also the European market.

According to major foreign media on the 11th (local time), Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's Chief Operating Officer (COO), attending the JP Morgan Conference on the day, said about the joint battery company with SK, "We are very excited," and "(The joint venture) will definitely expand beyond North America to Europe."

In May, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a joint venture (JV) called BlueOvalSK in the U.S. The joint factory to be established by the two companies will produce battery cells and modules with an annual capacity of about 60GWh. 60GWh is enough to produce 600,000 electric pickup trucks requiring approximately 100 kWh batteries. At that time, the two companies decided to review the possibility of production expansion further and did not disclose specific details.

COO Thai-Tang stated, "Ford's global electric vehicle plan requires an annual battery cell capacity of 240GWh by 2030," adding, "Of this, 140GWh will be allocated to North America, and the rest to Europe, China, and other regions." He also mentioned that, besides batteries, Ford has started producing transmissions and motors for electric vehicles in-house and is reviewing related software and semiconductor chips as part of vertical integration.

SK Innovation's electric vehicle battery factory in Hungary. Photo by SK Innovation

Ford’s Vehicle Manufacturing Plants Concentrated in Germany and the UK
May Establish a New Base in Western Europe

SK Innovation’s battery production base in Europe is in Hungary. The Kom?rom Plant 1, located west of the capital Budapest, is operating with a capacity of 7.5GWh, and Plant 2 (10GWh) is under construction aiming for commercial production within the year. Additionally, it has been confirmed that another plant will be built in Iv?ncsa, south of Budapest. Once the Iv?ncsa plant with a capacity of 30GWh begins full-scale production, the total production capacity will approach 50GWh annually.

On top of this, the joint factory with Ford will be added. Earlier, Ji Dong-seop, head of SK Innovation’s battery business, revealed plans to expand cooperation with Ford at a corporate briefing last month. They have left open the possibility of increasing production capacity up to 180GWh, which is three times the initially announced annual capacity of BlueOvalSK (60GWh).

The two companies have not disclosed specific locations, scale, or operation schedules for the upcoming European joint factory. However, considering that Ford’s vehicle manufacturing plants currently operating in Europe are concentrated in Germany and the UK, there is speculation about establishing a new base in Western Europe. As part of its electrification strategy, Ford has decided to convert its Cologne plant in Germany into an electric vehicle factory.

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