SK On to attract $2b loan to back 3rd battery plant in Europe

South Korean lithium-ion battery cell maker SK On announced Thursday that it plans to attract a combined $2 billion loan to ramp up its push for a new battery plant in Europe.

The green financing will come from seven commercial banks with three export credit agencies -- Korea Trade Insurance Corp., Export-Import Bank of Korea and Allianz Trade (formerly known as Euler Hermes) -- supporting loans, loan guarantees and insurance.

The borrowing will go to SK On‘s third European battery plant in Ivancsa, Hungary, located about 40 kilometers southwest of Budapest. The new facility, under a 3.31 trillion won ($2.5 billion) project, is to produce 30 gigawatt-hours of batteries each year, enough to supply to some 430,000 units of electric vehicles.

SK On is currently building two facilities in Koracom, Hungary with a combined annual production capacity of roughly 17.3 GWh. This is in line with SK‘s production capacity expansion plan to 500 GWh by 2030, from 77 GWh as of the end of this year.

(consnow@heraldcorp.com)