NEW YORK– Today SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, was named to TIME’s third annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list for its role in growing electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing in the U.S.
SK was recognized by TIME for driving growth within the EV market by building the infrastructure for EV battery manufacturing in the U.S. SK’s efforts across its companies span the EV battery and charging, hydrogen energy, semiconductor and recycling industries, among others.
TIME writes: “South Korea’s second largest conglomerate is making big bets on American-made EV batteries… In April, SK announced plans with Hyundai for a $5 billion plant in Georgia. A joint venture with Ford now under way involves two massive battery facilities together worth $11.4 billion, including one in Kentucky that will be the country’s largest.”
In pursuit of making meaningful change and building a more resilient future, SK Group is committed to investing $85 billion in green businesses by 2030 and cutting annual carbon emissions by 200 million tons in 2030. To further this commitment, in the past year SK Group companies:
- SK On and Ford Motor Company finalized a joint venture in July 2022 called BlueOval SK to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. In April 2023, SK On and Hyundai Motor Group approved plans to set up a joint venture to make EV battery cells.
- SK Signet, a leading EV charger manufacturer, opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility in June 2023 to produce CCS and NACS compliant EV chargers and launched a new ultra-fast EV charger in January 2023.
- Absolics Inc., a subsidiary of SKC Co. Ltd., broke ground in November 2022 on a $600 million investment to supply advanced materials to the semiconductor industry, driving the energy efficiency of chipsets.
- SK Geo Centric, a subsidiary of SK Innovation, launched its Waste & Carbon Zero strategy to recycle plastics totaling the same amount of its global production volume. Additionally, SK Geo Centric plans to construct the world’s first multiple chemical recycling facility – ‘Advanced Recycle Cluster’ – in Ulsan, South Korea, by late 2025.
To assemble the list, TIME solicited nominations across sectors, and polled its global network of contributors and correspondents, as well as outside experts. Then TIME editors evaluated each on key factors, including impact, innovation, ambition, and success. The result is a diverse group of 100 businesses helping chart an essential path forward.
Read SK’s full TIME100 Most Influential Companies report here.
See the full list here.
About SK
SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, is a collection of global industry-leading companies driving innovations in energy, advanced materials, biopharmaceuticals and digital business. Based in Seoul, SK invests in building sustainable businesses around the world with a shared commitment to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. SK Group is one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies of 2023.
SK companies combined have $139 billion in global annual revenue and employ more than 100,000 people worldwide. SK companies are investing billions of dollars in expanding their U.S. presence with business operations or partnerships in electric vehicle (EV) batteries and charging technology, hydrogen energy and fuel cells, pharmaceutical manufacturing and development, and semiconductors.
For more information on SK Group, visit sk.com.
