SES Korea joins SES Shanghai Giga and SES Boston to accelerate A-sample joint development with GM, Hyundai and Honda, on heels of capital raise from recent business combination and listing on NYSE
BOSTON – SES AI Corporation, headquartered in Boston, a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high-performance lithium-metal (Li-Metal) rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications, announced today that it has incorporated its subsidiary SES Korea and plans to build a pre-production facility in South Korea.
“It’s all about speed and winning the race. Momentum is building as additional auto OEMs want to establish arrangements for the joint development of A-sample batteries with SES. Having SES Boston, Shanghai Giga, and now SES Korea gives us access to deep talent pools and the highly efficient ecosystems in South Korea and China, the two industry powerhouses, as well as unparalleled chemistry and software capabilities in the United States. We also believe that the cash raised by our recent business combination with Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp. and our listing on the New York Stock Exchange will help us to accelerate these developments,” said Dr. Qichao Hu, Founder and CEO of SES.
SES Korea will be SES’s second major operation outside of the United States, after SES Shanghai Giga. SES Korea expects to have approximately 50 employees by the end of 2022. South Korea is home to several of SES’s important strategic partners including Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai), SK Inc. (SK) and LG Corporation.
South Korea has a strong battery supply chain and a deep talent pool. SES Korea and SES Shanghai Giga will focus on different aspects of supply chain development and different A-sample joint development with auto OEMs.
SES AI has automotive A-sample joint development agreements (JDAs) with General Motors Company (GM), Hyundai, and Honda Motors (Honda). SES is backed by strategic investors including GM, Hyundai, Honda, Geely Auto Group, SAIC Motor, SK, Koch, Applied Materials, Inc., Tianqi Lithium HK Co. Ltd., Vertex Ventures Holdings, Temasek Holdings Limited, affiliates of LG and Foxconn Technology Group and several others.
“The incorporation of SES Korea marks another milestone in our quest to build on SES’s position as a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high-performance Li-Metal batteries for EVs. South Korea is a powerhouse of EV battery development, so we couldn’t be in a better position in terms of having a long-term base in Korea where we will contribute to the development of cell manufacturing equipment and process development, joint development with auto OEMs, and supply chain development,” said Hans Kim, Vice President & Head of SES Korea.
