▲ South Korean President Moon Jae-in (front row, left), Chairman of SK Group Chey Tae-won (front row, right), Georgia’s U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (back row, first from left), Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp (back row, second from left) take a tour at SK Innovation’s EV battery plant in Georgia
(Photo by: The Republic of Korea Cheong Wa Dae)

On the 22^nd (US local time), SK Innovation welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in to its electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility in Jackson County, Georgia after his four-day trip to Washington for the summit with U.S. President Joe Biden.

President Moon was accompanied by South Korea’s Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook, Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp, Georgia’s U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, Senator Raphael Warnock and Chairman of SK Group Chey Tae-won during his visit at the battery plant. President of SK Innovation’s Battery Business Jee Dong-seob represented the company to welcome the guests at Georgia plant.

During his speech at the factory on Saturday, President Moon called SK Innovation’s battery plant in Georgia “a symbol of friendship and high-tech cooperation between South Korea and the United States.” He continued, “The Georgia plants will become the key supplier of the EV batteries for the U.S,” and “SK Innovation will take a big leap in the U.S. market by itself.”

In addition, President also stated that “South Korean firms are best partners in the battery field.” “Cooperation in the sector offers a good opportunity for the US and South Korea to develop together.”

SK Innovation’s battery facility in Georgia is the only Korean company’s business site that was visited by President Moon during his trip to the U.S. this time. As the U.S. government is pressing for stable supply chains in high-tech industries including EV batteries and President Biden sets to focus on green energy, while South Korea is also promoting its own version of “Green New Deal”, the importance of SK Innovation’s large scale battery plants in the U.S. are undeniable.

At the moment, SK Innovation has secured two EV battery plants in Georgia. Plant 1 is running pilot operation and commercial production is expected to start early next year. Plant 2 is currently under construction and mass production will begin in 2023. SK Innovation plans to create about 2,600 local jobs by the end of 2023 at its Georgia facilities.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said in his speech to welcome President Moon’s visit that SK Innovation’s investment is “truly a game changer for Georgia”. “Right here in Jackson County, SK is creating the jobs of the future,” he added.

On behalf of SK Innovation, Jee Dong-seob, President of SK Innovation’s Battery Business made a brief introduction regarding the company’s EV battery technology and Georgia plants. He gave thanks to the visitors and promised that the company “will devote itself to the growth of the battery business and strive to become a successful model for South Korea – U.S. economic cooperation.”

President Moon’s visit to SK Innovation’s plants in Georgia is soon after the company’s announcement to build a joint venture with Ford, a giant automaker in the U.S. Together, SK Innovation and Ford will build a factory to produce EV batteries with an annual capacity of 60GWh, which can power about 600,000 electric pickup trucks (each requires about 100kwh of battery on average) per year.