SK On and Ford Motor have signed a MoU for establishing a JV for battery production in Turkey.

14 March 2022, 04:47:46

SK On and Ford Motor have signed a MoU for establishing a JV for battery production in Turkey working together with Koç Holding. Founded in 1926, Turkey's Koç Holding is the only Turkish company to be listed on the Fortune Global 500, representing this country. In 1959, they established Ford Otosan together with Ford and are producing commercial vehicles (for business, such as vans, etc.) in the Cocaeli area, with an annual production capacity of 455,000 units.

Koç Holding, which participated as a partner with SK On-Ford, is evaluated as the best partner for the establishment of the European joint venture, as it has a strong influence in Turkey, such as operating various core businesses such as energy, automobiles, and durable consumer goods. The number of employees reached 110,000, and in 2021, it recorded 346.7 billion lira (about 29 trillion won) in consolidated sales.

The battery production plant will be located near Ankara, Turkey. The plant will produce high nickel NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) batteries, and production will start at the earliest from 2025 at an annual capacity of 30 to 45-gigawatt hours (GWh). The produced batteries are expected to be mainly used in commercial vehicles. Among the three major domestic battery companies, SK On is the first to establish a production joint venture in Europe in partnership with a carmaker.

SK On is firmly established as a key partner in Ford's electric vehicle battery supply. In particular, as Ford recently announced that it would operate a separate electric vehicle business, spurring electrification, expectations for collaboration with SK On are also rising.

Ford has a plan to secure a battery capacity of 240GWh by 2030, and most of it will be procured through SK On. Ford secured 140GWh needed in North America through BlueOval SK, a 129GWh joint venture established with SK On in Kentucky and Tennessee, USA, and SK On's second plant in Georgia (11GWh).

Ford plans to procure the remaining 100GWh in Europe and China, and this time, by procuring 30~45GWh through a Turkish plant jointly with SK On-Coach, more than 70% of the total capacity (240GWh) it wants to secure worldwide (170~ 185GWh) is expected to be achieved.

In addition to a joint venture through external partnerships, SK On is accelerating its securing of a global battery production base by building its own production plant. SK On operates factories in Korea (Seosan), the United States (Georgia), China (Changzhou, etc.) and Hungary (Komarom).

SK On aims to grow into a global battery company in name and reality by achieving the total production capacity of the joint venture and independent production subsidiaries to 220 GWh in 2025 and 500 GWh in 2030. In an interview with an in-house channel recently, SK On CEO Ji Dong-seop revealed his ambition to become the global No. 1 company, saying, "SK On has achieved 1,600 GWh of accumulated orders by the end of 2021, and customers have been constantly requesting increase."

Through this joint venture in Turkey, Ford is expected to further solidify its position in the European market as well as the US. In 2021, Ford was named Europe's best-selling commercial vehicle brand for the seventh consecutive year, and the Ford Transit Custom took the top spot in sales in the UK in 2020 with over 40,000 units sold.

"This joint venture initiative is a prime example of how we are leveraging strategic partnerships to strengthen our business," said Stuart Rowley, Ford Europe Chairman. "It is also the first in a number of significant electrification and commercial vehicle announcements we will make this year as part of the ongoing redesign of our operations to create a leaner, stronger and sustainable all-electric Ford business in Europe."

Koç Holding CEO Levent Çakıroğlu said, "We are very pleased to announce the signing of an MOU to consider a joint venture at an important stage in the future of the automotive industry, which is transitioning to the era of electric vehicles. This means that Turkey has significant global competitiveness in battery production." He also said, "The Coach Group’s long history and leading position in the automotive industry, Ford’s trust and dedication, and SK Innovation’s deep-rooted experience make this project convincing."

SK Innovation (the parent company of SK On) started researching electric vehicle batteries in 1991 and is evaluated to be the most advanced in high-density nickel NCM battery technology that has the greatest impact on electric vehicle mileage and output. In 2016, SK Innovation developed the world's first NCM811 battery using a cathode material mixed with nickel-cobalt-manganese in a ratio of 8:1:1, respectively. It has also succeeded in developing an NCM9 (about 90% nickel) battery and will supply it for the Ford F-150 Lightning vehicle.

Dong-seop Ji, CEO of SK On said, "I am delighted to continue the partnership in Europe following the cooperation through Blue Oval SK, a joint venture for battery production in the US with Ford." Then, CEO Ji emphasized, "I look forward to contributing to Ford’s electrification growth strategy and further contributing to the growth of the electric vehicle industry and reduction of global carbon."

"We have a vision to become the industry's best joint venture that will take the manufacturing and supply of electric vehicle batteries to the next level," said Ford European Chairman Stuart Raleigh. "I would also like to thank the Turkish government for continuing to support our transition to establish it. I want to thank our partners SK On Co., Ltd. and Koç Holding for their vision in what I believe will be an industry- leading joint venture which will take the manufacture and supply of batteries for electric commercial vehicles to the next level. I also thank the Turkish Government for continuing to support our electrification transformation."

News related to SK On, Ford or Koc Holding

Ford Motor Company said today it reached an agreement with Tesla Motors that will provide Ford electric vehicle customers access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada, doubling the number of fast-chargers available to Ford EV customers starting Spring 2024. A Tesla-developed adapter will provide Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles fitted with the Combined Charging...

26 May 2023

Ford Motor Company has signed deals with three companies for lithium hydroxide supply. These are Albemarle, Nemaska Lithium, and SQM. Albemarle will supply more than 100,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide for approximately 3 million future Ford EV batteries. The five-year supply agreement starts in 2026 and continues through 2030. In addition to the lithium hydroxide supply, Albemarle and Ford will...

23 May 2023

SNE Research reported that the global EV battery market has recorded a 38.6% YoY growth in Q1 of 2023. The total amount of energy held by batteries for pure EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs was around 133 GWh. CATL remains the top market player with a growth rate of 35.9% and 35% market share. BYD experienced a staggering growth in the Q1 of 115.5% but ranks second in market share with 16.2%. LGES is third with a growth rate of...

5 May 2023

Ford is re-opening its order banks for the all-electric Mustang Mach-E on Wednesday as completed plant upgrades support production ramp in the second half of 2023, with feature improvements on the way – including an increased range for standard range battery models to a targeted EPA-estimated range of 250 miles for RWD and 226 miles for eAWD. The production increase for Mustang Mach-E in the second half of this year...

3 May 2023

SK On signed a joint development agreement with U.S. graphite company Westwater Resources as part of efforts to strengthen its battery raw material supply chain in North America. Under the agreement, the two companies will work together to develop environmentally responsible, high-performance anode materials tailored for SK On batteries. Should the project end with successful results, SK On will consider the option...

3 May 2023

Hyundai Motor Group today announced its plans to set up an electric vehicle (EV) battery cell production joint venture in the US with partner SK On. The Group affiliates Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, and Hyundai Mobis each approved the plan at their respective board meetings today. In November 2022, the Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK On to secure EV battery supply for North...

25 April 2023

Ford announced that F-150 Lightning is going global for the first time with entry into Norway, the world's most advanced electric vehicle market. Following impassioned consumer demand, Norwegian customers can apply to purchase a limited number of special F-150 Lightning Lariat Launch Edition vehicles. In the USA market there are two LARIAT trims - F-150 Lightning Lariat Standard Range (510A) and F-150 Lightning...

20 April 2023

Ford Motor Company is investing C$1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Complex to transform it into a high-volume hub of electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada – a key part of the company’s plan to scale production of electric vehicles and make them more accessible to millions of customers. The campus, to be renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, will begin to retool and modernize in the second quarter of 2024...

12 April 2023

Ford’s EV sales grew 41% in the first quarter on sales of 10,866 electric vehicles. F-150 Lightning sales totaled 4,291 pickups with production capacity actions on track to hit an annual production run rate of 150,000 this year. Sales by Ford Pro of the E-Transit, America’s best-selling electric van last year, climbed 62.7%. Reflecting downtime at the plant for changes to increase production, Mustang Mach-E sales...

5 April 2023

Following the release of additional guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department, Ford Motor Company has confirmed that all three of its currently available popular electric vehicles, as well as its plug-in hybrids, are eligible for Inflation Reduction Act federal tax credits in 2023. The available BEVs by Ford are: Ford F-150 Lightning - USD 7,500 credit Ford Mustnag Mach-E - USD 3,750 credit Ford E-Transit - USD...

5 April 2023

Ford is on track with construction at the BlueOval City mega-campus and poised to usher in a new era of American innovation and manufacturing. The electric vehicle and battery manufacturing campus in West Tennessee begins production in 2025 and will be home to Ford’s second-generation electric truck, code-named Project T3. The site will be capable of producing 500,000 EV trucks a year at full production capacity...

27 March 2023

Ford today revealed the new all-electric Ford Explorer. It is the first in a wave of innovative new electric vehicles from Ford and forges the way for a complete reinvention of the Ford brand in Europe. It is also the company’s first electric vehicle to be built at scale in the new Ford Cologne EV Centre in Germany. Engineered and built in Germany, the all-electric Explorer offers an outstanding digital experience...

21 March 2023

SK On participated in InterBattery 2023 held at Coex Convention & Exhibition Center, Seoul from March 15 to 17. Hosted by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, InterBattery is Korea’s most representative battery exhibition event that attracts hundreds of battery companies and tens of thousands of visitors every year. This year, SK On’s exhibition at InterBattery is under the main theme of "Move On,"...

20 March 2023

SK On revealed that it would display a mock-up of a prismatic battery at InterBattery 2023, the largest battery exhibition in Korea, to be held at COEX, Seoul from March 15 to 17. SK On has completed prototype development and plans to begin producing this type of cell within this year. The prismatic battery of SK On is characterized by its fast-charging speed. SK On’s Super Fast (SF) battery, which received the Best...

10 March 2023