Fire breaks out at SK On factory in China

SK On's battery plant in the state of Georgia in the United States is pictured. [SK ON]

A fire broke out at an SK On's battery plant in Yancheng, China, but no casualties were reported.

The fire started at around 2:50 p.m. Monday at the factory during a test run before its official operation scheduled for the second quarter of next year.

"The fire is believed to have originated from a pipe," an SK On spokesperson said. "The factory was producing sample batteries ahead of the official opening."

The fire was fully extinguished in three hours, and no casualties were reported.

"As of now, no delay will be made for the plant's operation due to the fire," SK On added. "We are investigating the fire's cause and the size of the damage."

SK On invested $2.5 billion in the Yancheng plant, which will have 33 gigawatt-hours of capacity, or enough to make more than 450,000 high-performance EVs every year.

The Yancheong factory is SK On's largest battery plant in China. It has three more plants in China, each in Yancheong, Changzhou and Huizhou.

The Korean battery maker has 16 factories either running or under construction, which will bring its total capacity to 500 gigawatt-hours by the end of 2030.

SK On was the world's fourth largest battery maker as of the end of September, with a 10.7 percent share, according to SNE Research.

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