FRANKFURT, Germany, BERLIN and SEOUL, South Korea – SK Innovation, of Seoul, South Korea, and international automotive supplier Continental, have announced plans to jointly develop and supply first-class battery technology for the automotive industry.
On Monday in Frankfurt, Germany, the two technology leaders signed an agreement founding a jointly managed company. The know-how of the two firms will be concentrated in this new company with the goal of mutually developing, producing and globally marketing lithium-ion battery systems for cars.
"The cooperation of the two companies’ capabilities and technologies is a remarkable starting point to open a new horizon for future transport. The combination of SK’s battery cell know-how and Continental´s battery system know-how will yield the best solution for the operation of electric car batteries and therefore suggests the most evolved model to the global automobile market," said Chey Jae-won, executive vice chairman of SK Group.
"We will make up a strong team that will work together highly effectively in developing and manufacturing one of the technologies that is key for future mobility. In this way, we can support our global automotive customers in introducing electric drive systems with state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery technology," added Dr. Elmar Degenhart, chairman of the Executive Board of Continental.
Continental and SK Innovation anticipate that, as CO2 regulations become more stringent worldwide, electrically assisted drives and pure electric vehicles will become increasingly important in the market. The battery is one of the key components of these technologies.
SK Innovation will hold a 51 percent stake in the new company, Continental 49 percent. The business strategies of SK Innovation and of Continental will remain unaffected by the joint management of this new company. Both companies will continue to supply their customers in the automotive industry with their entire existing product range, they said.
The venture, which will be managed operationally from Berlin, is slated to start business in the fourth quarter of this year. Its research and development activities will be carried out in Daejon, South Korea, in addition to Berlin. Production, marketing and sales will be set up locally in the target markets worldwide. Initially, there will be about 200 employees worldwide, with both partner companies providing equal portions of the workforce.
