Moon visits SK Innovation’s battery plant in Georgia

South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited a plant construction site of SK Innovation Co., the country‘s leading battery maker, in the United States on Saturday.

“This plant symbolizes friendship and high-tech cooperation between South Korea and the United States,” Moon said in a speech at the factory in the state of Georgia. “South Korean firms are best partners in the battery field. Cooperation in the sector offers a good opportunity for the US and South Korea to develop together.”

Moon made a stopover in Atlanta for a visit to the site on his way back home following summit talks with Biden, during which they agreed to cooperate closely on the global supply chain issue.

He was accompanied by South Korea’s Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Georgia Gov. Brian P.Kemp during the tour of the facility.

The governor expressed his gratitude for the South Korean company‘s investment in his state, saying many workers will get jobs at the plant.

Once its construction is completed on the outskirts of Atlanta, the facility is expected to become a “successful cooperation model” between the two nations, according to Moon’s office Cheong Wa Dae.

SK Innovation is investing around 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in the construction project, with trial production under way starting in March.

Moon’s visit came just days after SK Innovation announced it was forming a joint venture with Ford Motor to manufacture EV battery cells.

The envisioned joint venture will be called BlueOvalSK and will produce batteries in the US, where the EV market is expected to boom in the coming years under the Joe Biden administration’s green initiatives.

The move comes as global EV makers have rolled up their sleeves to secure a stable supply of batteries. The latest SK Innovation-Ford partnership is in addition to a preexisting partnership in which the South Korean firm supplies batteries for Ford’s Mustang Mach-E SUVs. (From news reports)