SK and Ford to invest $11.4 billion in electric vehicle battery plants in the US

A joint venture between SK Innovation and Ford Motor will spend $11.4 billion to build what the firms say will be the largest auto battery manufacturing operation in the US. SK, a South Korean oil, chemical, and battery firm, and Ford will each own half of the venture, to be called BlueOvalSK. The venture will initially have two sites: a plant at Ford’s planned Blue Oval City electric vehicle complex in Tennessee will be able to produce 43 GW h of batteries per year, and a facility in central Kentucky will have 86 GW h of capacity. In total, the firms say, BlueOvalSK will be able to make 1 million electric vehicle batteries per year. SK’s US battery division is already building a 21.5 GW h facility in Georgia to supply firms such as Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai Motor. Ford and SK intend to become the leading US makers of electric vehicles and electric vehicle batteries, respectively, executives from the two firms said at an event last week unveiling the partnership.