SK Innovation's Battery Separator Subsidiary to Halt Operations at North Chungcheong Plant

SKIET Halts Lithium-Ion Separator Production Lines
"Affected by Aging Facilities and Declining Profitability"
"Transition to Poland-Centered Production System"

SK IE Technology (SKIET), a subsidiary of SK Innovation specializing in separators for electric vehicle batteries, will cease operations of its lithium-ion battery separator production lines at its Jeungpyeong plant in North Chungcheong Province. The company aims to restructure its manufacturing bases due to ongoing equipment aging and declining profitability.

On the 27th, SKIET announced through a regulatory filing that it has decided to suspend all commercial operations at the Jeungpyeong plant located in Jeungpyeong-gun, North Chungcheong Province. The scheduled date for production suspension is November 30. The facilities affected are those dedicated to manufacturing lithium-ion battery separators. Sales from this segment amount to approximately 117.7 billion won, representing 44.96% of the company’s recent total revenue.

In 2021, with the start of the general subscription for SK Innovation's SKIET public offering, a related notice was installed at the Korea Investment & Securities branch in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to SKIET, the Jeungpyeong plant has served as an initial manufacturing base for 15 years, during which time equipment has aged. The company explained that persistently low operating rates and worsening profitability have reduced the economic viability of maintaining commercial production. In addition, it stated that the decision to suspend production was made as part of efforts to optimize the efficiency of its global manufacturing bases.

Going forward, the company plans to focus on streamlining operations around its manufacturing base in Poland. SKIET stated that the Polish plant is expected to operate with a production capacity of about 1.5 billion square meters.

SKIET expects that the suspension of production at the Jeungpyeong plant will help reduce fixed operating costs and enhance operational efficiency. However, the company added that plans for utilizing the plant’s equipment and land after the suspension are still under review.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.