SK On, Shinhan Securities pledge investment of 200 billion won in battery ecosystem

SK On chief administrative officer Choi Young-chan, left, and Shinhan Securities CEO Kim Sang-tae, take a photo after signing an agreement to cooperate on battery investment Tuesday. [SK ON]

SK On and Shinhan Securities are banding together to promote the battery ecosystem, pledging a combined 200 billion won ($162 million) in investment.

The two companies inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Tuesday and agreed to form an alliance to cooperate on battery development, with SK On chief administrative officer (CAO) Choi Young-chan and Shinhan Securities CEO Kim Sang-tae in attendance.

Investment of up to 200 billion won will be made into smaller companies that have next-generation technologies and are engaged in projects like recycling used-battery business or a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) business. BaaS involves battery leasing and swapping and energy storage systems.

"Our cooperation will be an opportunity to accelerate the EV battery ecosystem," said SK On CAO Choi. "SK On will constantly take the lead in strengthening the industry competitiveness."

SK On developed a super fast battery, which has 83 percent nickel content and can run more than 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) per charge. The high-performance and high-nickel batteries allow the car to be charged to 80 percent in only 18 minutes, the fastest in the market so far. The product won an innovative award at the CES 2023 earlier in the year.

Shinhan Securities last year made investments in Nexeon, a British anodes material company, and Ascend Elements, a U.S. battery recycling company.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]