LG Ensol’s Surprise Proposal “Can Acquire SK US Battery Factory

It indicated that LG Energy Solutions could take over SK Innovation’s plant in Georgia, USA.

According to AJC, a local media in the United States on the 12th (local time), it is reported that Jonghyun Kim, the president of LG Energy Solutions, sent such a letter to Senator Rapier Warnock on the 10th. Meanwhile, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp asked President Joe Biden to veto the decision of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC).

As the deadline for exercising the U.S. presidential veto on ITC decisions is approaching a month in the future, LG·SK parties and stakeholders are busy.

In a letter, President Kim said, “LG is ready to do anything to help Georgia residents and workers. If an outside investor takes over SK’s Georgia plant, LG may participate as a partner in running it.” As the demand for electric vehicle batteries increases, many investors and manufacturers will be interested in the plant.”

LG Energy Solutions announced on the 12th that it would invest more than 5 trillion won in the US to build more than two battery production plants. Candidate sites for factories are scheduled to be announced in the first half of this year, but there is also a prospect that Georgia could be included as a new factory site in the future with LG’s move.

An official from LG Energy Solutions explained, “It is a dimension to clearly inform that the current situation has been caused by SK’s fraudulent technology takeover, and to relieve concerns about jobs in Georgia.”

Meanwhile, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp again asked President Joe Biden to overturn ITC’s ban on the import of SK Innovation batteries.

The Georgian state government released a letter from Governor Kemp to President Biden on the 12th (local time). Governor Kemp said, “SK’s electric vehicle battery plant, which will be built in Commerce, Georgia, is expected to employ 2,600 people, and SK’s $2.6 billion (about 3 trillion won) investment to build the plant is the largest foreign investment in Georgia’s history.” “SK plans to expand the plant by 2025 to increase the number of employees and increase battery production to 50GWh annually,” he said. “The president overturned the ITC decision to make the Georgia plant economically insurmountable. “If we do not, we have no choice but to close the plant,” said SK.

An SK official said about the possibility of an external takeover of the Georgia plant, “It is impossible for a major automobile company to produce batteries that can be accommodated by a major automobile company after an external company simply acquires an electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility.” If so, this will further retreat US efforts to catch up with China.”

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