Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
SK On completes BlueOval SK restructuring, takes full control of Tennessee plant
SK On's plant in Tennessee / Courtesy of SK On
By Nam Hyun-woo
SK On has completed the restructuring of its battery joint venture with Ford Motor, BlueOval SK, converting its Tennessee plant in the United States into a standalone entity, the company said Thursday.
By unwinding the joint venture structure, the company aims to strengthen its financial position while increasing operational autonomy over its U.S. production base.
According to SK On, the existing BlueOval SK Tennessee plant has been renamed “SK On Tennessee” and has begun operating as a fully independent facility.
Under the new structure, SK On will fully own and operate the Tennessee plant, while the two Kentucky plants previously under BlueOval SK will be owned and operated by Ford.
The restructuring follows an agreement reached in December 2025 between SK On and Ford to end their three-year joint operation of BlueOval SK, a move intended to strategically realign assets and production capacity to improve operational efficiency and better respond to evolving market dynamics and customer needs.
SK On expects the termination of the joint venture structure to reduce its debt burden by approximately 5.4 trillion won ($4 billion). Given the high interest rate environment, the company also anticipates annual interest expense savings of about $180 million. In addition, depreciation costs of roughly 330 billion won per year associated with the Kentucky plants are expected to decline.
“Through this restructuring of the joint venture structure, we have strengthened our financial structure and improved the efficiency of our U.S. operations,” an SK On official said. “We will actively respond to changes in the North American market based on our newly secured standalone production base.”