This is SK Innovation's fourth battery plant in China and its first wholly-owned battery plant there.
It's not just local battery makers that are expanding their power battery capacity in China, but foreign companies as well.
South Korea's SK Innovation officially broke ground on a 30-GWh power battery project in Yancheng city, eastern China's Jiangsu province, on January 17, according to an announcement made today by the city government.
The base is one of SK Innovation's largest production bases in the world, and the largest foreign investment project Yancheng has introduced in recent years, according to the announcement.
The project, with a total investment of $2.53 billion, is scheduled for completion of the main body in December this year and installation of equipment to begin in January next year, with annual sales of RMB 20 billion to be added after it goes into operation, the announcement said.
Last November, South Korean media reported that SK Innovation had decided to invest 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) to build its fourth factory in China and its first wholly-owned battery plant there.
Previously SK Innovation's power battery plants with annual capacities of 7 GWh, 10 GWh and 10 GWh in Changzhou, Yancheng and Huizhou were already in operation.
Among them, the Changzhou plant is a joint venture between SK Innovation and BAIC Group, while the Yancheng and Huizhou plants are joint ventures between it and Eve Energy.
According to SK Innovation's previously announced plans, its annual battery production capacity will expand to 85 GWh by 2023, 220 GWh by 2025 and more than 500 GWh by 2030.
South Korean media outlet Etnews said in September last year, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Xpeng Motors had signed a supply contract with SK Innovation in July to supply it with high nickel batteries with 80 percent nickel content.
SK Innovation is expected to supply Xpeng with batteries from its third battery plant in China, located in Huizhou, Guangdong province, according to the report.
The plant has an annual capacity of 10 GWh and is capable of supplying 100,000 vehicles with batteries that can travel more than 500 kilometers on a single charge, according to the report.
Headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Xpeng currently has a factory in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, and is building new factories in Guangzhou and Wuhan, central China.
Xpeng reportedly signs battery supply deal with South Korea's SK Innovation
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