Koreans to invest USD 1 billion in Dąbrowa Górnicza

SK IE Technology Co., which is part of the Korean-based SK group, is to invest USD 1 billion to extend a production complex in Dąbrowa Górnicza within the Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSSE). The company is to build its third and fourth production halls for electric vehicle battery components in Silesia. On completion of the project, the centre will be the company’s largest production plant in the world and 450 jobs will have been created. Construction work is planned to start in Q3 this year and the production of battery separators for electric vehicles is to start before the end of 2023. Each production hall will have an estimated production capacity of 430 million sq m of battery separators per year. This component makes up the core of a lithium-ion battery, it determines a battery’s efficiency and safety and accounts for around 20 pct of the total cost. SK IE Technology was set up in 2019 to incorporate the battery separator division of SK Innovation. The SK group is involved in petrochemicals, and the chemical industry as well as the production of electric car batteries and their components. The group has been active in Poland since 2018. With the announcement of this new project the South Korean company’s total investment in Dąbrowa Górnicza is set to rise to over EUR 1.5 billion or almost PLN 7 billion.