글렌데일, 켄터키주에 위치한 블루오벌SK의 전기차용 배터리 생산 공장의 전경 (블루오벌SK)

SK온이 포드와 합작으로 짓고 있는 미국 배터리 공장이 이르면 내년 상반기 양산을 시작할 것으로 확인됐다.

블루오벌SK 캘리 맥알리스터 대외협력 총괄은 수요일 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 켄터키 1공장이 내년 상반기 완공과 동시에 생산을 시작할 것이라고 밝혔다.

지난 주말 방한한 그는 “켄터키 1공장이 준비 중인 세 공장 중 가장 먼저 가동된다는 것에 굉장히 흥분된다”며 “장비 설치가 이미 시작됐다”고 설명했다.

2022년 SK온과 포드는 총 114억 달러를 투자해 합작사 블루오벌SK를 공식 출범시켰다. 켄터키주와 테네시주에 배터리공장이 각 2개, 1개 설립될 예정이고 이곳에서 생산된 배터리들을 포드의 전기차에 탑재한다는 계획이다.

미국 전기차 시장 성장세가 둔화하면서 지난 4월 포드는 신규 전기차 출시를 연기한 바 있다. 이에 블루오벌SK의 양산계획에도 차질이 생기는 것이 아니냐는 일부 우려가 있었다.

블루오벌SK 캘리 맥알리스터 대외협력총괄이 17일 서울 모처에서 코리아헤럴드와 인터뷰를 진행하고 있다. (임세준/코리아헤럴드)

맥알리스터 총괄은 “전기차 시장 성장세가 다소 실망스럽지만 전기차가 미래임은 이변이 없다”며 “양산 계획에 변동이 없으며 수요가 발생했을 때 누구보다 발 빠르게 생산에 돌입할 수 있을 것”이라고 자신감을 내비쳤다.

총 58억 달러가 투자되는 켄터키 1·2공장은 각각 37GWh, 45GWh의 연간 최대 생산 규모를 가지게 된다. 이 두 공장과 테네시 공장의 최대 생산 규모인 45GWh를 합하면 블루오벌SK는 연간 최대 생산 127GWh의 전기차용 배터리 생산이 가능해진다. 이는 80kWh의 배터리로 운행되는 전기차 약 160만대의 동력을 공급할 수 있는 양이다.

한편, 포드는 전기차 공급망 강화의 일환으로 켄터키주 셸비빌에 4억 달러 규모의 부품 공장 건설을 검토 중이다. 포드는 올 상반기 4만 4,180대의 전기차를 판매하며 전년 동기 대비 72% 급증한 전기차 판매량을 기록했다.

기사 원문:

[Exclusive] BlueOval SK’s Kentucky plant to start production in 1st half of 2025: official

Keli McAlister, external affairs director at SK On-Ford joint battery venture, says Tennessee plant will be completed by 2nd half of 2025

BlueOval SK, a joint venture between Korean battery maker SK On and US automaker Ford, will begin mass production of batteries at its first plant in Glendale, Kentucky, in the first half of next year, a company official said Wednesday.

“We are very excited about Kentucky 1 going online, the first of our three plants,” said Keli McAlister, external affairs director at BlueOval SK in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul.

“There’s a lot of moving parts in a project this large. Four million square feet (371,610 square meters) is a large facility but we do believe it will be (up and running) in the first half of 2025.”

In 2022, SK On and Ford established BlueOval SK with a $11.4 billion investment to build three battery plants in the United States -- two at the Kentucky site and one in Stanton, Tennessee -- to supply batteries for the latter’s electric vehicles.

In April, Ford announced it would postpone rolling out new electric pickup trucks and a new three-row electric sports utility vehicle amid the slower-than-anticipated EV growth in the US. However, BlueOval SK has maintained that Kentucky 1 will begin production in 2025 without mentioning any detailed dates.

McAlister’s comments marked the first time for a company official to give a more specific timeline for the beginning of production at Kentucky 1.

“We remain on schedule,” said McAlister. “Of course, we’re business. We’re going to monitor the market, but we believe we will begin production in 2025 as soon as construction is complete at Kentucky 1 … We’ve begun equipment installation at Kentucky 1.”

The second plant in Glendale, Kentucky 2, currently has no targeted date for the beginning of production. The BlueOval SK official underscored that the facility “will be ready when the market demand reaches it” and start producing batteries faster than anyone as its construction continues.

US media outlets reported last week that Ford is considering Shelbyville, Kentucky, for a $400 million car parts factory that will mainly focus on crafting EV components, showing the willingness of SK On’s partner to bolster EV supply chain in the southeastern state. Ford sold 44,180 EVs in the first half of this year, up 72 percent on year.

According to McAlister, the Tennessee plant’s construction will be completed in the second half of next year and production will begin then.

“I think (EV) projections have been different than reality, and I think that’s disappointing to people but we remain steadfast,” she said. “We know electric vehicles are the future and we’re poised to be part of that market.”

The $5.8 billion dual plant project in Kentucky is the single largest economic development in the state’s history. The first and second plants in Glendale will have an annual production of 37 gigawatt-hours and 45 GWh, respectively, once they operate at full capacity. Combined with the Tennessee plant’s annual capacity of 45 GWh, BlueOval SK will be able to supply 127 GWh per year, which would be enough to power about 1.6 million high-performance EVs.

As BlueOval SK’s ultimate goal is to create 2,500 jobs at each of the three battery plants, McAlister noted that there are just over a thousand employees: about 700 in Kentucky and 300 in Tennessee.

“We want our workforce to reflect the community,” she said. “So about 80 percent of our employees will be local hires. That’s our goal … There are specific jobs that require specific skills so we have to look for those that meet those requirements and we’ve been lucky to find them.”