SK Innovation Co is expanding its lithium-ion battery separator manufacturing facility in China.
The energy solutions arm of South Korean conglomerate SK Group is ramping up output of the battery product in Jeungpyeong, North Chungcheong. Ground-breaking is set for May.
SK Innovation developed its commercial-use battery separators in 2004 and is now responsible for around 17% of global lithium-ion battery separators (LiBS) produced at one of nine production lines at the company’s facility in Jeungpyeong.
Once construction of the new facility is finished in 2018, the company aims to produce 330 million square metres of LiBS a year.
The aggressive nature of the expansion plans follows the company doubling its annual production capacity of its battery plant in Seosan, North Chungcheong, to 40,000 units a year.
The move would make SK Innovation one of the world’s largest LiBS producers after expansion, and getting nearer to its goal of eclipsing Japan’s Asahi Kasei to become the world’s largest by 2020.
Last year Japan’s Yano Research showed China accounted for 37.6% of the battery separator market while Japan stood in second place with a 34.9% market share. The third-largest producer was the US with 11.1% of the sector.
