SK Innovation expects the U.S. vehicle industry to experience a battery supply shortage until 2025 due to the long lead times to build production facilities, top SK executives informed Reuters.
SK Innovation’s battery unit, SK On, is also looking to develop lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), which have an advantage in cost and thermal stability regardless of a lower driving range, Kim Jun, chief executive of SK Innovation and Jee Dong-seob, CEO of SK On, said.
Tight supplies of batteries pose a challenge to the Biden administration, which intends to increase EV production and reduce the country’s dependence on imports for battery cells, components, and materials.
“The current U.S. battery capacity is far short of meeting demand. Building a factory to meet the demand needs a lead time of 30 months, and I see a battery shortage continuing at least until 2025,” Kim said.
China is expected to have a battery oversupply, and Europe’s supply will be in line with demand, he added.
The chip shortage, which has hit automakers worldwide, emerges from a confluence of factors as automakers, which closed plants for two months during the coronavirus pandemic last year, rival against the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies. A factory fire suffered by Japanese chipmaker Renesas this year is also cited as a reason behind the chip shortage.
