SK IE to invest $1 bn to expand in Poland, become No. 1 battery separator maker by 2024. SK IE Technology Co., (SK IET), battery materials maker under South Korea’s No. 3 rechargeable power supplier SK Innovation Co. is implementing near $1 billion capex to add two additional EV-focused battery separator plants in Poland to boast unrivaled economies of scale before it goes public later this year.
SK Innovation said on that it is investing total 1.13 trillion won ($999.3 million) to build third and fourth battery separator plants in existing complex in Silesia, Poland.
A separator, core to lithium-ion battery responsible for safety and performance, accounts for up to 20 percent of cost of battery powering EVs.
Battery industry estimates that last year’s 4 billion square meter separator market will quadruple to 16 billion square meters in 2025, with supply running short versus demand from 2023.
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SK IET plans to begin construction of its additional facilities in Poland in the third quarter with an aim to launch mass production by the end of 2023. Each of the two facilities is expected to have annual production capacity of 430 million square meters – 860 million square meters in total.
Combined with the two lines under construction with capacity of 680 million, SK IET’s full output from Polish base will surge to 1.54 billion square meters by 2024, enough separators to fit into 1.54 million big capacity electric vehicles.
The No. 1 line goes into mass production in the fourth quarter of this year and No. 2 line in the first quarter of 2023.
SK IET currently operates a lithium-ion battery separator plant in Jeungpyeong, North Chungcheong Province in Korea, and in Changzhou, China, with combined output capacity of 860 million square meters. By 2024 when all four factories in Poland are in activity, the company’s total capacity would come to 2.74 billion square meters.
![[Source: SK Innovation Co.]](https://file.mk.co.kr/meet/neds/2021/03/image_readmed_2021_295436_16169998254590098.jpg)
SK IET is a strong player in global wet separator market. Wet separators are more suitable for high-specification electric cars while dry separators for energy storage systems. Wet separators require high initial investment as to dry separators.
In the wet separator market, SK IET competes with Japan’s Asahi Kasei Corp., Toray, and Sumitomo. SK IET aims to widen the gap with global top-tier players by expanding production in Poland.
SK IET is earning credence for its product quality.
Batteries applying SK IET separators have not yet reported a single fire accident, allowing it to hold the “safety” tag as premium material.
An unnamed official from SK Innovation said that the company owns differentiated independent technology such as separator coating technology that minimizes deformation in heat and shock and technology that realizes the same quality while adjusting separator thickness.
Europe-based battery manufacturers have already booked orders with SK IET’s first plant in Poland enters mass production.
Roh Jae-sok, chief executive of SK IET, said that SK will expand supply of safe separators based on its exclusive technology to contribute to the growth of electric vehicle industry.
Shares of SK Innovation closed Monday down 1.91 percent at 205,000 won in Seoul.
SK IE to invest $1 bn to expand in Poland, become No. 1 separator maker by 2024, March 29, 2021
