Hyundai Motor Group and SK On have officially named their US battery joint venture Hyundai SK Battery Manufacturing America.
In a LinkedIn post Friday, Hyundai-SK America Green Power Energy — the joint venture’s provisional name — announced that it has finalized its name as HSBMA.
Unveiled on April 25, 2023, the joint venture — in which both companies holding equal 50 percent stakes — is now more than 90 percent complete and set to begin commercial operations later this year. The facility in Bartow County, Georgia, will have an annual production capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours, enough to power about 300,000 EVs.
Strategically located near Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America and Kia’s Georgia plant, as well as Hyundai Motor’s Alabama facility, the new plant is expected to strengthen the automaker’s EV supply chain in North America. Battery cells produced at HSBMA will be assembled by Hyundai Mobis and supplied exclusively to US-built Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs.
With HMGMA set to ramp up operations this year, HSBMA’s supply capacity is expected to gradually expand.
SK On currently supplies batteries for key models including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and EV9, and Genesis GV60.
Industry insiders say the Hyundai-SK On battery partnership stands out for its resilience, as Korean battery makers scale back or unwind joint ventures with US automakers such as Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, amid slowing EV demand in the region.
SK On is set to further strengthen its North American manufacturing base through its 22-gigawatt-hour SK Battery America plant in Georgia, the upcoming 35-gigawatt-hour HSBMA facility, and the 45-gigawatt-hour BlueOval SK plant in Tennessee, which is expected to transition from a joint venture with Ford to a standalone facility.
Beyond EVs, SK On is expanding into the North American ESS market and is in discussions with US clients for contracts exceeding 10 gigawatt-hours. To support this, it plans to secure about 20 gigawatt-hours of ESS-dedicated capacity by converting some of its EV battery lines in the US.
hyejin2@heraldcorp.com
