SK Innovation denies it has plans to put up 3rd EV battery plant in Hungary

SK Innovation Co denies reports by insiders that it has plans to put up a third battery plant in Hungary and that it has begun the process of selecting subcontractors for its construction.

The company insists that no decision has been made in putting up a third Hungarian plant.

According to SK Innovation, it has concluded that there is a need for further investments to prepare for an increase in car battery demand in Europe.

Currently, SK Innovation runs a plant with an annual capacity of 7.5 gigawatt-hours in the city of Komarom in northwestern Hungary.
The South Korean refining-to-battery conglomerate is also completing its second plant with a capacity of 9.8 GWh by 2022.

Komarom hosts the assembly lines of Audi, the plant of Daimler AG, which owns Mercedes-Benz.

SK Innovation, South Korea's top oil refiner, has been moving into the EV battery business since 2008 in its efforts to find new revenue sources.

The EV battery business has been robust as global automakers turn their focus on creating EVs due to tightened regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, which are being blamed for global warming.