Hyundai Motor Group and SK On have officially announced the name of their US battery joint venture: Hyundai SK Battery Manufacturing America (HSBMA).
The announcement came via a LinkedIn post on Friday from what was formerly known as Hyundai-SK America Green Power Energy, the joint venture’s provisional name, confirming the finalized name as HSBMA.
The joint venture, unveiled on April 25, 2023, represents a 50-50 partnership between Hyundai and SK On. The state-of-the-art facility, located in Bartow County, Georgia, is reportedly over 90 percent complete and is on track to commence commercial operations later this year. It boasts an impressive annual production capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours (GWh), sufficient to power approximately 300,000 electric vehicles (EVs).
HSBMA’s strategic location near Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) and Kia’s Georgia manufacturing plant, in addition to Hyundai Motor’s Alabama facility, is poised to significantly bolster the automaker’s EV supply chain within North America. The battery cells produced at HSBMA will be expertly assembled by Hyundai Mobis and exclusively supplied to US-built Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis electric vehicles.
As HMGMA gears up to ramp up its operations in the coming year, HSBMA’s battery supply capacity is projected to expand progressively, ensuring a reliable and increasing flow of batteries for the growing EV market.
Currently, SK On is a key battery supplier for popular EV models, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and EV9, and the Genesis GV60.
Industry experts highlight the Hyundai-SK On battery collaboration as a testament to resilience, particularly as other Korean battery manufacturers are scaling back or dissolving joint ventures with US automakers like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, amidst a perceived slowdown in EV demand in the region.
SK On is further solidifying its North American manufacturing presence through its existing 22 GWh SK Battery America plant in Georgia, the forthcoming 35 GWh HSBMA facility, and the 45 GWh BlueOval SK plant in Tennessee, which is anticipated to transition from a joint venture with Ford to an independently operated facility.
Beyond its focus on EVs, SK On is also aggressively expanding into the North American Energy Storage System (ESS) market and is currently in discussions with US clients for contracts exceeding 10 GWh. To support this strategic move, the company plans to secure around 20 GWh of ESS-dedicated capacity by repurposing some of its EV battery production lines in the US.
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