SK Innovation secures 'green loan' deal for Hungarian battery plant construction project
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Mapping out battery manufacturing expansion in Europe. Image: SK Innovation
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South Korean battery manufacturer SK Innovation (SKI) has secured a $500m (about £360m) ‘green loan’ from the Export-Import Bank of Korea towards construction of its second electric vehicle battery plant in Hungary.
The 9.8GWh plant, to the north of Budapest, in Komárom, is one of two lithium-ion battery production plants under construction in Hungary by the company’s SK Battery Manufacturing subsidiary.
SKI’s first plant in Hungary, also in Komárom, started commercial production in the first quarter of 2020 and has an annual capacity of 7.5GWh.
SKI chief financial officer, Kim Yang-seob, said the seven-year loan deal for the second plant endorsed the company’s environmental credentials in support of clean energy projects and ensured "nothing but smooth sailing” for the construction project.
In 2019, SKI became the first South Korean company to succeed in procuring green loan funds – amounting to KRW 800bn (about £510m) – and said it has secured additional such financing every year since to expand its EV batteries business.
World Battery News reported last February that SKI was building a third battery plant in Hungary at a total investment cost of $2.29bn. Construction of the 700,000 sqm plant at Iváncsa, about 50km southwest of Budapest, is set to start in the third quarter of this year and end in 2028.
In March, SKI subsidiary SK IE Technology confirmed it would build two additional lithium-ion battery separator plants at its manufacturing complex being developed in Poland.
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The 9.8GWh plant, to the north of Budapest, in Komárom, is one of two lithium-ion battery production plants under construction in Hungary by the company’s SK Battery Manufacturing subsidiary.
SKI’s first plant in Hungary, also in Komárom, started commercial production in the first quarter of 2020 and has an annual capacity of 7.5GWh.
SKI chief financial officer, Kim Yang-seob, said the seven-year loan deal for the second plant endorsed the company’s environmental credentials in support of clean energy projects and ensured "nothing but smooth sailing” for the construction project.
Expansion
In 2019, SKI became the first South Korean company to succeed in procuring green loan funds – amounting to KRW 800bn (about £510m) – and said it has secured additional such financing every year since to expand its EV batteries business.
World Battery News reported last February that SKI was building a third battery plant in Hungary at a total investment cost of $2.29bn. Construction of the 700,000 sqm plant at Iváncsa, about 50km southwest of Budapest, is set to start in the third quarter of this year and end in 2028.
In March, SKI subsidiary SK IE Technology confirmed it would build two additional lithium-ion battery separator plants at its manufacturing complex being developed in Poland.
Related articles in our archive: