▲ CEO of SK IE Technology Roh Jae-sok

Q1. SK IE Technology (hereafter, SKIET) is currently in the limelight for its business and stakeholders. Please share your resolutions and goals for 2022, as March is already around the corner.

With the rapid growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market in the world, the downstream and upstream ecosystems centered on the separator, the core material of EV batteries, are expanding simultaneously. SKIET has been acknowledged for its enterprise value in the financial market, and it became the global, top-tier manufacturer of lithium-ion battery separators (LiBS).

But we expect certain challenges down the road this year with COVID-19 still happening, leading to the supply chain’s instability and worsening global competition. This requires an active response on our part, particularly in increasing the competitiveness of production and quality and pushing forward with eco-friendly policies. Amid these challenging times, I feel a heavy burden on my shoulders, yet I ensure that 2022 will become the year SKIET lays the foundation that will allow us to grow and become the leading material company in the world. To this end, I will not only strive to make the supply and quality of the products be smooth sail without any problems, but also to receive higher recognition of our enterprise value by solidifying the competitive advantage that distinguishes us from others in the industry with our unique and singular technology. As the CEO of SKIET, I will do my best to satisfy both the members and stakeholders by actively executing the financial story.

Q2. Could you share with us more details about the stellar growth in SKIET’s business last year?

▲ Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Poland Sun Mira, Polish Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Technology Grzegorz Piechowiak, and CEO of SK IE Technology Roh Jae-sok (fourth from left) attend the completion ceremony of SKIET’s first separator plant in Poland on October 6th, 2021 (local time)

From both the quantity and quality perspective, I would say that the biggest achievement would be laying down the foundation of the global top-tier LiBS company.

The global production base located in China is already getting on track, and the LiBS separator factory in Poland, the biggest one in Europe, is now commercially operating, allowing us to lay the foundation to lead the global market. In particular, SKIET is the first company that has secured the production base capable of producing 340 million m2 in Europe, one of the biggest EV markets in the entire globe, as the factory construction in Poland was completed last October. This production volume translates to more than 300,000 EVs, and we expect that SKIET will contribute to the vitalization of the EV market in the continent.

Moreover, we have been leading the ESG governance, wherein we introduced 100% green energy in the factories in Korea and Poland. Last September, we successfully joined the Renewable Electricity 100 (RE100). This has set a strong foundation for us to accelerate the transition towards eco-friendly energy. As I mentioned earlier, RE100 is not a mandatory program but we voluntarily participated to introduce 100% green energy in all the business centers in the country, such as those in Jeungpyeong and Cheongju and the factory in Poland.

Furthermore, we plan to shift 60% of the entire energy used across the plants in the world to environmentally friendly ones by 2025. This is 5 years ahead of the goal required by the RE100. We also aim to introduce green energy in all of our production bases in the world by 2030, and this will allow us to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70%.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the members who have worked to pursue SUPEX* in their respective places despite the challenging times and to the stakeholders who have provided relentless support and encouragement to us.

*SUPEX: “Super Excellent Level,” which means the highest level attainable by human ability

▲ Plant No.1 in Poland by SK IE Technology introduced 100% green energy.

Q3. With the rapid growth of the EV and battery industry globally, the importance of separators is growing as well for being the core material of EV batteries. I understand that the separator produced from SKIET is highly sought after by a lot of companies. What do you think is the biggest advantage of your product compared to the rivals?

The separator is at the center of the value chain that connects to batteries in the EV. So as you have said, the rise of EVs and battery industries naturally means the rise for the separator market.

It is the important material that ensures the performance and safety of the batteries, and the battery’s performance is enhanced when it is thinner. As the separator becomes thinner, more materials can be placed inside the anode and cathode, enhancing the density and output of the battery. But at the same time, it needs to have uniformity in quality with properties of low shrinkage at high temperatures and physical durability so that it can have a smooth flow of ions, electrical insulating properties with heat stability when overheated or received a strong impact. Therefore, the key is to produce a thin and sturdy separator, which SKIET’s product promises to our customers, and it is our biggest advantage.

But to just elaborate some more, I think our separator has two more specific advantages, sequential stretching technology and Ceramic Coated Separator (CCS).

First, “sequential stretching” is the world’s first technology independently developed by SKIET. It refers to spreading out the base separator material in the form of a highly viscous dough to be a thin film. The principle is to pull the dough once width-wise and then length-wise. Since the degree of stretching the base material in both directions can be flexibly adjusted, the thickness of the separator can be adjusted uniformly and precisely as desired.

As for the “CCS,” it is deformation-resistant. It prevents battery fires by well-withstanding external pressure and not shrinking even against heat.

Thanks to our superior proprietary technologies, the battery companies and even the EV manufacturers pay attention to our separators.

▲ The separator of SK IE Technology is built with the company’s outstanding self-developed technology.

Q4. The battery separator market is on the rise. What is your prediction and expectation for the market this year?

The global LiBS market is expected to enjoy an average growth of 20% every year until 2030.

These could be supported by the rapid supply of EVs due to environmental regulations in the world and the strenuous efforts to develop safe and highly-efficient batteries to avoid fire-related accidents. Therefore, the demand for wet-type LiBS for EVs is likely to see an annual growth of 24% on average until 2030.

However, despite the prospect of steady growth, the COVID-19 that has continued since 2020 disrupted the global supply chain system in many ways. In particular, it directly affected the supply of automotive semiconductors worldwide. This prevented the smooth production of EVs and eventually delayed the EV market from pushing ahead furthermore. However, I believe the fundamental market trend of the ever-growing EV market remains unchanged.

In other words, even though a short-term disruption in the supply chain has occurred, the advent of the age of EVs is inevitable as there are environmental regulations across the globe and raised awareness of car consumers on the environment. All of this means that the global LiBS market is set to see steady growth down the road. Many institutes expect that the supply imbalance of semiconductors will be solved in the latter half of this year. The demand that was left on hold will push the market to grow all the more.

Q5. In the New Year message, you mentioned that this year will allow SKIET to become the “Global Top Material Co.” I understand this as the strong execution direction of the financial story.

As I mentioned a while ago, SKIET is the company that produces the separator, the core material in the global battery industry ecosystem. Not only that, it is the company that leads the Net Zero campaign by taking various measures such as carbon emission reduction. In order to fulfill the role we have been entrusted with, we must make sure that the supply and quality of our products will always remain superb. This could be said to be the core of the financial story, which plans to make sure that SKIET will become the top material manufacturer in the world.

There are many hurdles ahead of us, which I have mentioned before. But as the CEO, I plan to focus my efforts on stabilizing the operation and ensuring continual growth in the separator business to ensure that our financial story is put into action. We have put the cost innovation and product quality, which are directly related to our competitiveness, on the front burner. Moreover, we plan to preemptively construct efficient production facilities that allow us to supply our products to our clients without any seconds of delay. We will do our best to make higher enterprise values by safely operating the triangular production system that can be found in South Korea, China, and Poland. On top of that, various measures for growth will be reviewed to allow expansion of our business.

▲CEO Roh Jae-sok attended the opening ceremony of Plant No.1 in Poland, held last October 6, 2021 (local time)

Q6. How about the other business such as the FCW (Flexible Cover Window)*?

SKIET is currently pushing ahead with new business portfolios based on our globally competitive separator business and unrivaled technology. We are committed to creating visible results such as developing FCW applications by identifying the needs of the markets and acquiring major target clients. Through this, we will strengthen the FCW project and the foundation for the development of new projects.

*FCW: FCW is a brand name of SKIET. In a form similar to a smartphone screen-protection film, FCW is a material that enhances durability by hard coating the colorless polyimide (CPI). It is attached to display surfaces that can be folded, rolled up, and bent, such as foldable phones, rollable TVs, and curved monitors. FCW protects the panels from being easily damaged when exposed to external shocks, whether it be from excessive touching or unexpected drops. Especially, it is an essential material for making foldable phones, of which the screens are frequently touched, folded, and unfolded.

Moreover, we plan to create the growth portfolio early on by expanding to various businesses that are centered on battery/display materials. The leading example would be “Beyond LiBS,” which is currently under the planning phase. This is in consideration of the upcoming solid-state battery market that we expect to emerge in the future. Just like this, we will continually explore various options and avenues for new businesses to create the growth portfolio as the top global material manufacturing company, all to ensure that new businesses like FCW will hugely contribute to the company’s enterprise value in 2025.

Q7. It’s time to wrap up our interview. Please give your last message to the readers.

The separator is the indispensable material that allows batteries to be safe with high performance, and SKIET is contributing to the expansion of the industry ecosystem via its production. SKIET that possesses the highest competitiveness in the field of separators is striving to grow and develop with the EV and battery ecosystem at all times. In this regard, I cannot emphasize enough how important cooperative development with our stakeholders is to our growth. It is the most crucial factor that enables us to move forward, and we are always grateful for this.

Once again, I gratefully acknowledge all of you for taking on arduous tasks in a harsh business environment with a sense of responsibility last year. Just as we have surmounted difficult hurdles so far, I am optimistic that our efforts and competent skills will lead us to grow furthermore this year. As CEO, I will improve the execution level of the financial story and increase the company’s enterprise value to ensure that you and our company grow in a mutually beneficial way while the industry ecosystem can further develop.