The company will expand a separators factory for lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars in Dąbrowa Górnicza. Thanks to the investment, the plant in Poland will be the company’s largest in the world. The investment process was again supported by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH).
Two new factories for separators of batteries used in electric cars will be built in Dąbrowa Górnicza. It will complement the existing investor's complex in Silesia. The Korean company plans to start building the new plants in the third quarter of this year. Production is expected to start at the end of 2023. It is estimated that the annual capacity of the planned new plants will amount to a total of 860 million m2 of separators - 430 million m2 each. The separators, which are the core of lithium-ion batteries, affect their safety and efficiency in electric vehicles. They constitute up to 20 percent of the battery production costs. This is a key element in the growth of the EV and battery sector.
Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development, Labor and Technology:
"The next stage of SK IE Technology development confirms that our Korean partner is focused on continuous development and global expansion in the lithium-ion battery market. I am glad that today we can confirm that the company associates its development plans with our country and once again has chosen Poland. The company's decision confirms that our country is an attractive place to invest capital. We are able to quickly meet the expectations of investors, and our advantage is our very well educated employees. This investment is also important due to the fact that electromobility is a global trend, and Poland has become a very important link in this business. Let us recall that the company was the first in Korea and the third in the world to develop key solutions for the production of car batteries. The company, thanks to the use of advanced technologies, provides customers all over the world with modern and non-standard solutions. We open the door wide to investors who strengthen Poland’s economic ecosystem with advanced and top-quality technologies. Issues related to innovation, modern technologies, including electromobility, are one of the most important elements of Poland’s Industrial Policy."
Krzysztof Drynda, Chairman of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency:
"Another investment in Poland by the Korean company is proof that our country is strengthening its position as the leader in electromobility. It also shows that Poland is currently a great location to implement investments in this sector. We positively compete with other locations with factors such as, the time of implementation and the ease of the investment process, well-educated employees, but also a comprehensively organized process of supporting investment projects. As PAIH, we started work with the investor at a very early stage of their activity in Poland. At the end of 2019, during a mission to Korea, to which we also invited our regional partners, we convinced the company's authorities that they should see their future in Poland. We are pleased that the company has decided to expand its investment in Dąbrowa Górnicza. SK IE Technology is a strategic investor in the region. This is a sign that we remain a reliable business partner even in times of a crisis caused by a pandemic. E-mobility is now a global trend. Poland is an extremely important link in the supply chain for electric cars.".
"I am very pleased with SK IE Technology’s decision to further develop their activities in the KSEZ. The incredible pace of investments carried out by SK IE Technology in Dąbrowa Górnicza, because it is worth recalling that it has not been two years since the purchase of real estate in the KSEZ in Tucznawa, which is stunning for everyone, including me. Also the nature and scale of the investments, both those currently being implemented (PLN 2.5 billion, 700 jobs) and those just announced (PLN 3.5 billion and another several hundred jobs) are of strategic importance, not only for the KSEZ and Dąbrowa Górnicza, but also for the Silesian Voivodeship and Poland. I would like to emphasize that it is worth investing money in the preparation of investment areas, as the effects can appear very quickly, as can be seen by the example in the KSEZ in Dąbrowa Górnicza-Tucznawa."
Marcin Bazylak, Mayor of Dąbrowa Górnicza:
"We accept the decision of the Management Board of SK IE Technology with great satisfaction, because it confirms that Dąbrowa Górnicza is a city where investors can count on local government support. It is also encouraging that such a powerful company operating in the innovative electromobility industry links its future with our city."
SK Innovation, one of the largest South Korean companies in the energy and chemical sector, has been operating in Poland since 2018. It deals with the processing of petroleum substances, produces chemicals, as well as batteries for electric cars and their components.SK IE Technology was established in 2019, when the separator part taken out of SK Innovation. Thanks to the new investment, the plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza will be the company’s largest factory in the world, and the total capital expenditure will exceed EUR 1.5 billion (almost PLN 7 billion).
