According to foreign media reports, on March 19, South Korean battery maker SK On announced that it had signed a battery supply contract with Japanese automaker Nissan. Nissan thus became SK On’s first Japanese automaker customer.
SK On’s contract with Nissan is six years, starting from 2028 to 2033. During this period, SK On will supply Nissan with a total of 99.4 GWh batteries, which roughly meets the battery needs of about 1 million mid-sized electric vehicles.
The batteries supplied by SK On for Nissan are high-performance high-nickel soft-pack batteries, which are planned to be produced in North America and will be used in four Nissan’s next-generation electric vehicles. These models will also be produced at Nissan’s factory in Canton, Mississippi, USA, mainly for the North American market.
SK On said: “This once again proves the demand for high energy density and high nickel batteries in the U.S. market, which emphasizes the range of electric vehicles after a single charge.”
“This contract is an important milestone in Nissan’s advancement of electrification in the North American market and also demonstrates our commitment to investing in the U.S. market,” said Christian Meunier, president of Nissan America. He added: “By leveraging SK On’s local battery production capacity, we will be able to deliver innovative, high-quality electric vehicles that meet customer needs.”
“SK On’s outstanding battery technology and competitiveness have been recognized again, which makes me very meaningful. We will actively leverage our production capacity and experience in this key market in North America to help our partners successfully transform to electric vehicles.”
North America is the region where SK On focuses on strategic layout. Currently, SK On operates a self-built factory with an annual production capacity of 22 GWh in Georgia, USA. In addition, the company has built four new factories in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee with its customers in the form of a joint venture. When all these plants are built and reach maximum production capacity, SK On’s annual battery production capacity in the United States will increase to above 180 GWh.
Nissan is known as Japan’s three major automakers, together with Toyota and Honda, and is also one of the members of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which ranks fourth in the world in sales. Nissan has made an early layout in the field of electric vehicles and launched the pure electric vehicle model Nissan Leaf in 2010, which is the world’s first large-scale production electric vehicle.