S. Korean Energy Company Plans EV Battery Plant in Hungary

Seoul-based oil refiner SK Innovation Co. says it will spend 840 billion won ($773 million) to launch electric-vehicle battery production in Hungary.

The company plans to break ground on a factory in Komarom in February and begin production in early 2020. The facility is designed for annual capacity to produce batteries representing 7.5 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity. The company announced early last year that it will supply EV batteries to Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit.

SK Innovation is turning to Europe for new business in part to offset a major setback in China, the world’s largest EV market. China’s government, which is backing the country’s EV market, has excluded subsidies for electrified vehicles fitted with batteries sourced from South Korean manufacturers, according to Reuters.

The embargo stems from Korea’s deployment of a U.S.-supplied missile defense system in response to North Korean threats of attack. China considers the system a threat to its own security and has supported a boycott on a wide variety of South Korean goods and services.

The ban prompted SK Innovation to suspend battery assembly operations earlier this year at a joint venture plant in China. The company also has delayed plans to launch local battery cell production in the country.