SK Innovation has reportedly chosen China’s Autowell to supply equipment for assembling battery modules and packs, along with those for logistics automation at its EV battery firm located in Georgia, US, according to industry sources on April 10.
It marks the first time that reports confirmed a partnership between Autowell and SK Innovation on battery-making equipment. Until now, Autowell had supplied mostly fellow Chinese companies such as BAK and Lisun Battery.
SK Innovation’s Georgia plant was built with an annual capacity of 9.8GWh. About 70% of its production lines consist of formation and automatic logistics. This means the equipment from Autowell would be worth at least 100 KRW billion, according to industry sources.
Based in Wuxi, Autowell was established in 2010, and is capable of designing and producing battery modules and packs, along with equipment for logistics automation.
The second plant in Georgia that is likely to soon see additional investment from SK Innovation –depending on when the firm can wrap up its ongoing lawsuit with LG Chem, not to mention global market conditions – may also be supplied by Autowell. Industry experts say it makes more sense both in terms of funding and efficiency to go turn-key for such equipment. The first plant in Georgia will begin mass productions in 2022.
The Elec is South Korea’s No.1 tech news platform.
