SKIET Restructures Production System Around Poland... Shuts Down Plants in Korea and China (Comprehensive)

SK Innovation's Battery Separator Subsidiary
Sells Chinese Plant and Halts Chungbuk Operations
"Enhancing Asset Efficiency... Responding to North American and European Markets"

SK ie technology (SKIET), a separator subsidiary of SK Innovation specializing in electric vehicle batteries, is divesting its Chinese plant and ceasing commercial production at its domestic Chungbuk plant, shifting its production system to focus on Poland. This restructuring of the supply chain aims to better respond to the electric vehicle markets in North America and Europe.

On May 27, SKIET announced that it had decided to sell 100% of its shares in SK Hi-Tech Materials, the operator of its Chinese plant, to SEMCORP, a Chinese separator manufacturer, for approximately 88.8 billion won (400 million yuan). The company explained that this move is intended to enhance asset efficiency and reorganize its global supply chain in line with the growth of electric vehicle markets in North America and Europe. With this sale, separator production in China will be discontinued, and SKIET will shift to a production strategy focused on customers in North America and Europe.

Exterior view of SK IE Technology's first factory in Poland. SK Innovation

The commercial operation of all production lines at the Jeungpyeong plant in Jeungpyeong-gun, Chungbuk will also be halted within this year. The Jeungpyeong plant has been in operation since 2010, running for more than 15 years. According to SKIET, the aging of the plant's facilities, continued decline in operating rates, and worsening profitability have made it economically unviable to maintain commercial production. The planned date for cessation of production is November 30, 2026.

However, SKIET is considering repurposing the Jeungpyeong plant as a research and development (R&D) hub for next-generation separator materials research and pilot testbed functions, rather than shutting it down completely. The company plans to foster it as a research base responsible for next-generation material development and prototype evaluation.

As a result, future separator production will be centered on the Poland plant. SKIET stated that it will optimize its supply chain to lower fixed costs and increase operating rates, thereby responding efficiently to demand in the North American and European markets.

The site of the SK Innovation Event for the Completion Ceremony of SK IE Technology Poland Plant 1 held in 2021. SK Innovation

SKIET began its first investment in the Poland plant in 2019 and completed Plant 1 in 2021. Plant 2 in Poland is scheduled to begin operations at the end of this year, and expansion of Plants 3 and 4 is currently underway. Once all Poland plants are completed, the total annual separator production capacity will be expanded to 1.54 billion square meters, sufficient for use in approximately 1.75 million electric vehicles.

An SKIET official said, "We plan to foster the Jeungpyeong plant as a center for future separator material research and develop Europe into a core production hub for separators," adding, "We will establish a production system that can respond more flexibly and efficiently to demand in the North American and European markets."

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