US Georgia Congress Adopts Resolution Calling for’Agreement’ between LG Energy and SK Inno

▲ LG Chem battery (left) and SK innovation battery. Ⓒ each company

The US state legislature of Georgia has turned the strategy for resolving battery disputes between LG Energy Solutions and SK Innovation. The State Senate initially urged President Joe Biden to exercise his veto power, but finally adopted a resolution calling for an agreement between the two companies.

According to foreign media on the 24th, the Georgia Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging LG Energy Solutions and SK Innovation to agree through negotiations on the 23rd (local time). In order to preserve US competitiveness and jobs in the electric vehicle battery production and supply chain, it is argued that local plant closures should be prevented.

“The loss of the SK Innovation plant will cost Georgia’s public and private investment billions of dollars and result in hundreds of people unemployed,” said Republican Senator Burch Miller of Georgia.

Senators from the Democratic Party pointed out the allegations against SK Innovation, but stressed that a solution should be prepared without closing the factory.

Senator Jen Jordan said, “When there is uncertainty in both companies, we have to push them down,” he said. “But they can reach an agreement and hope that this will preserve their jobs.”

The resolution in the Georgian state legislature is not legally binding, but it is expected to have a significant impact on the formation of public opinion. As the resolution was adopted by the Senate, only the procedures for passing the House were left behind.

Earlier, ITC reported that SK Innovation infringed LG Energy Solutions’ trade secrets last month, and issued an order to ban the import of batteries and related products for 10 years. Products supplied to Ford and Volkswagen, which are already under investment, have a grace period of 4 and 2 years, respectively.

Initially, the industry predicted that the two companies would agree, but negotiations are being delayed due to the wide gap in the amount of settlement that the two companies hoped for. It is known that LG Energy Solution requires more than 3 trillion won, while SK Innovation wants to reach an agreement in the 1 trillion won range.

Therefore, as the deadline for exercising the veto is approaching, both companies are engaged in war.

When SK Innovation implied the possibility of withdrawal of the battery business in the US if the veto is not exercised, LG Energy Solutions raised a consensus that it could invest 5 trillion won in the US market and take over SK Innovation’s plant.

SK Innovation criticized “It announced an investment plan that even the entity could not present,” and LG Energy Solutions said, “We are cutting down our legitimate investment plan. The core of this matter is to compensate for the damage caused by the infringing company’s trade secrets. “I have to do it,” he insisted.