SKC

• Signed an MOU for the rent of a factory site at KKIP in Kota Kinabalu City, with Malaysian Prime Minister overseeing the ceremony

• Planning further investment for the expansion of production capacity by over five times greater than today, attaining the maximum production capacity and a goal of RE 100

   

SKC (President Lee Wan-jae) jointly with SK nexilis, a world’s major investor in copper foil used for electric vehicle batteries, signed an MOU with the Malaysian authority concerned, taking a major step for the construction of their first overseas base for the production of copper foil. SKC and SKC nexilis are currently considering additional investments in order to materialize the world’s largest production capacity by the year 2025.

Lee Wan-jae, CEO of SKC, participated online in the ceremony of signing the MOU for the lease of a factory premises, which was held on March 22 at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) in Kota Kinabalu City, Sabah, Malaysia. The ceremony was also participated in by Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malyasia, together with Hajiji Noor, Chief Minister of Sabah, reflecting the great interest among the Malaysian public.

Lee Wan-jae, CEO of SKC, said to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at the ceremony that SKC’s investment was intended “to secure absolute competitiveness and initiation of its growth into a global leader.” He then concluded, “We will try our utmost to make our business greatly loved by the local community, growing together with the Kota Kinabalu City, which is, I believe, bound with us by a common destiny.”

Participants in the MOU signing ceremony included Kim Yeong-tae, CEO of SK nexilis, Kim Jong-u, Director of the BM Innovation Task Force, and Sin Dong-hwan, Director of the Global Expansion HQs of SK nexilis. Both parties signing the MOU agreed that the formal contract for the 30-year lease of the factory site (approx. 400,000m²) by the SKC’s Malaysian subsidiary within the KKIP should be signed as soon as possible.

The KKIP is regarded as an optimum place for SKC’s copper foil business to have its first overseas production base. As the political and economic center of the Malaysian state of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu City has international sea and airports actively operating for international trade, and an outstanding infrastructure for the gas and water supply. The stable supply and low cost of electricity are expected to be particularly beneficial for the company to attain the goal of RE100. SKC’s factory at the KKIP is planned to be operated using 100% renewable electricity, which would make it the first player in the industry to do so.

SKC is ready to invest about 700 billion KRW to the project of constructing its production base, which would produce about 50,000 tons of copper foil every year. With the factory starting its commercial operations in 2023, the company expects to increase its capacity of copper foil production for secondary batteries to 102,000 tons a year, three times higher than today's 34,000 tons.

SKC, jointly with SK nexilis, plans to increase its production capacity by five times by 2025, becoming the world's top manufacturer of copper foil. With the plan, the companies are considering further investment in Europe and the USA, as well as Malaysia. Detailed investment plans that are expected to be produced this year will include the action plans to attain their goal of RE100. The plan also aims to meet the ESG criteria, thus preemptively handling the demands from their customers.

"Since last year,” an SKC insider said, "our company has been operating the SK nexilis plant in Jeongeup at 100 percent of its capacity, in an effort to meet the growing demands for high-quality battery copper foil. We are also working hard to start the operation of our Fifth Plant, currently under construction, earlier than planned. We are confident that we will grow into the top global player in copper foil production, and in the process, we will increase the production capacity of our overseas plants, including that in Malaysia, to the world's top level, while attaining the goal of operating 100% powered by renewable electricity.”