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Ford Motor and SK Innovation are reportedly joining forces and will soon announce their electric vehicle battery joint venture in the U.S. This information was said to have been shared by two individuals who are familiar with the situation.
Ford Motor and SK Innovation signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together. The partnership is likely to be officially announced on Thursday, May 20, according to sources who provided the information to Reuters.
The deal between Ford and SKI
The reported joint business deal of the American automaker and Korean energy conglomerate will include building a plant for the production of battery cells for rechargeable EV batteries. The two companies will jointly own the facility and operate together as well.
The insider further revealed that the talks about SK Innovation and Ford Motor’s plan to do business together intensified last month when the former agreed to pay its rival LG Energy Solutions some $1.8 billion to settle their infringement dispute in the U.S.
But then again, Ford was contacted to comment on this partnership speculation but reportedly declined. The company only said that SK Innovation is a valued supplier. As for the Korean firm, it did not give a direct reply as well and stated it does not comment on inquiries about projects as it is a confidential matter.
U.S. and Korean leaders to meet for
It was said that Ford and SKI’s deal could be similar to General Motors and LG Energy’s battery joint venture. The latter is already constructing facilities in Tennessee and Ohio and GM will benefit from this too since they are working together.
Meanwhile, the possibility of Ford Motor and SK Innovation announcing their partnership is quite high. Bloomberg also reported that the companies’ venture is one of the highlights of the U.S. and S. Korea’s ties on the electric vehicles business. The media outlet wrote that Ford and SKI are poised to announce that they have reached an agreement to cooperate in building EV batteries.
Meanwhile, Korean President Moon Jae In is already in Washington for a 4-day summit with President Joe Biden. They are expected to discuss EVs along with representatives from companies including Samsung and SK, who accompanied Moon.
