SK On, the world’s fifth largest battery maker, has made a supply deal with Japanese automotive manufacturer Nissan for electric vehicle (EV) batteries produced in its US plant.
The deal is estimated at $1.78 billion, according to the Korea Economic Daily. It calculated this by factoring in that battery cells are being sold at $89/kWh, it said.
The Korean battery maker has agreed to supply 20GWh of batteries, which will be enough to power 300,000 EVs, the company said.
It is expected to start supplying batteries to Nissan for its US plant in 2028.
In March 2024, discussion between the two companies indicated batteries would be supplied between 2026 and 2027. But there was a delay due to the slowdown in EV sales.
SK On had reported an operating loss for the last 11 quarters consecutively before turning a profit in Q3 2024.
The Korean battery maker announced job cuts in September 2024. This was despite the expectation of improved performance in the second half of 2024. It said on 1 February it merged with SK Enterm, completing the three-way merger first revealed last July. The newly merged entity will operate under the name SK On.
Nissan had been discussing a possible merger with Honda Motor and is trying to put together its own supply lines in the US first. But the companies announced on 5 February they were scrapping plans to merge and create a $60 billion business.
