■ A contract to introduce green electricity in the battery separator plant in Poland, which starts mass manufacturing in Q3 this year

■ 100% shifting to green electricity in overseas business sites, following the recent shifts in domestic plants

■ Enforcing ESG management by reducing a whopping 70% of greenhouse gases emitted from the production process of separators

SK Innovation’s materials subsidiary, SK IE Technology (hereinafter SKIET) has announced that they will introduce eco-friendly electricity in the separator plant in Poland, which starts mass manufacturing in the Q3 of this year.

As of the 27^th (Polish local time), SKIET entered a contract with Tauron, a local power company in Poland, to receive a supply of eco-friendly energy from photovoltaic, solar, bio, wind, hydro and geothermal sources.

Earlier this year, SKIET has introduced 100% eco-friendly electricity in all of its domestic plants in Jeungpyeong and Cheongju. This made SKIET the first company in Korea that uses renewable energy for the entire electricity required at its factories. Expanding this to its manufacturing site in Poland is a further step of the company to enforce its ESG management not only at home but also abroad. SKIET plans to continue expanding the use of green power at its other factories as well.

By introducing eco-friendly electricity this year, SKIET can cut down 70% of greenhouse gases emission in its Korean and Polish factories. This is because approximately 70% of the total greenhouse gases generated from the separator manufacturing process came from the use of electricity. SKIET is preemptively using green electricity, even though it is not a regulatory subject.

SKIET is taking the lead in cutting down greenhouse gases and striving to strengthen ESG management by engaging in businesses that help improve the environment. The company is manufacturing LiBS (Lithium-ion Battery Separator), an essential element in EV batteries that are expected to replace the conventional combustion engine vehicles, which are among the main reasons of pollution.

Furthermore, SKIET is making environmental efforts in its manufacturing processes. SKIET plans not only to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases but reach zero wastes of various sources from the processes by 2030, to live up to its name of an eco-friendly company.

The company is contributing to the spread of eco-friendly EVs in the market through swift investments. SKIET’s separator production capacity that had been around 360 million m² in early 2019, has almost tripled in just 2 years to 1.03 billion m². This will further increase to 2.73 billion m² when the expansion of its production plants in Poland and China are completed in 2024. This capacity is enough to be supplied for approximately 2.73 million EVs equipped with high-capacity batteries.

Meanwhile, SKIET is ready to be listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) on May 11. A few days ago, the company has set a new record as the hottest IPO deal ever in the history of Korean securities markets, attracting great attention from both local and foreign investors.

SK SKIET CEO Rho Jae-sok emphasized, “In order to ensure ESG management that practically helps improve the environment, we have expanded the introduction of green electricity to overseas sites. We will strive to become the No. 1 company both businesswise and eco-friendliness wise.”

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SK IE Technology’s separator plants in Poland are under construction for expansion