SK On’s factory in the US suffered a fire incident sometime during September this year, TheElec has learned.
The fire happened on the part of the line where the formation process is done during battery production at the plant in Georgia state, sources said.
The fire was extinguished quickly by the staff on site but some of the pieces of machinery were damaged, the sources said.
It also took some time to remove the ashes from the fire and the incident caused problems with battery production, they added.
During the formation process, the batteries that have been assembled are charged and recharged with electricity for them to activate.
The precise monetary damage is not known but is speculated to be around a couple of million dollars, considering the damage to machinery and the time that the line could not operate.
SK On was currently investigating the matter and believes that some defective batteries may have been transported into the formation machines.
The sources said it could be that some battery cells that were made for testing which were supposed to be removed could have remained on the production line.
The factory in Georgia is SK On’s first in the US. Its smooth operation is important as the South Korean battery maker plans to build more factories there.
The one factory is already in operation and the company is currently building another there.
The output from these factories will determine whether Ford, which has a joint venture called BlueOval SK with SK On, will increase the number of batteries it uses in its electric vehicles from the South Korean battery maker.
