Korean battery material firm SK IE Technology— a subsidiary of SK Innovation— has started production at its second battery separator factory in China.
Plant 2, in Changzhou, increases the company’s annual production capacity to 510 million square meters, enough to supply to 500,000 electric vehicle batteries in China.
The company opened its first overseas production line in the south-eastern Chinese city in November. Plant 1 has an annual production capacity of 340 million square meters.
Additional plants in Poland and China will increase the firm’s total output to 1.87 billion square meters by 2023.
SKIET said it has already secured supply deals for this year and will further ramp up production capacity in line with the growing demand for EV batteries.
SKIET plans to float its shares on the Seoul bourse next month to raise funds needed to expand its production capacity, with its market value estimated at up to 7.5 trillion won ($6.6 billion).