SK Innovation launches new battery entity 'SK On'

Company carves out oil exploration biz into 'SK earthon'

By Kim Bo-eun

SK Innovation (SKI) officially split off its battery business into a wholly owned subsidiary named "SK On," in a bid to maximize growth and turn it into a global leading player, the company said Friday. SKI's Battery Division President Ji Dong-seop has been appointed as SK On's CEO.

SK seeks to rank among the world's top 3 electric vehicle (EV) battery makers by 2030. SK currently ranks around fifth. The split-off is also intended to raise funds via a stock market listing, which will take place once the company starts generating stable profit, which is estimated to take a few years.

SK On CEO Ji Dong-seop / Courtesy of SKI

Ji joined SK in 1990 and served in strategic positions, such as management and planning at SK Telecom and CEO of SK Lubricants before becoming the head of SKI's battery business. Ji's experience as SK Lubricants CEO is expected to help him work with global carmakers.

"SK On will make the safest, fastest and longest-lasting products and services," Ji was quoted as saying in a press release. "In order to make this possible, we will set up our own management system that will enable swift responses to market conditions and strengthen our business expertise and global competitiveness to make the leap to become a leading firm in the global EV battery industry."

SK On plans to scale up its battery production capacity to 85 gigawatt-hours on an annual basis by 2023, up from the current 40 gigawatt-hours. The company's target for 2025 is 220 gigawatt-hours and 500 gigawatt-hours for 2030. SK said its cumulative order bookings have exceeded 1 terawatt-hours, which is one of the largest among global battery firms.

In addition, SK On will handle the energy storage systems (ESS) business and develop batteries for flying vehicles and robots, the company said.

SKI also launched a new entity for its oil exploration and production business, "SK Earthon," headed by Myoung Sung, the former head of SKI's E&P business.

"We will develop a new green business portfolio, which will be SK Earthon's new growth engine, and make it successful to enable sustainable growth," Myoung was cited as saying.

SK Earthon plans to set up equipment that minimizes carbon emissions at oil fields and operate a carbon capture and storage business to expand its green business.

The two new companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of SKI. As a holding company, SKI plans to focus on developing new green businesses, such as recycling metals from batteries.

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