SK Innovation completed on Tuesday its second plant for automobile batteries in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, heralding fiercer competition in the automobile battery market, company officials said.

About 250 billion won ($223 million) was invested in the construction of the plant, which has a production capacity to supply 10,000 electric cars, or about 20,000 hybrid cars, per year.

Built on a 231,000 square-meter tract of land, the Seosan plant comprises three major parts, the battery, formation and packing buildings.

“The Seosan plant will be the hub of SK Innovation’s electric car battery business and its global production frame,” SK Group vice chairman Chey Jae-won said in his congratulatory remarks. “We will top the global market by 2020.”

SK Innovation has vowed to double Seosan plant’s production output by next year, setting a goal to increase its production capacity to supply about 150,000 electric cars.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)