A new factory producing lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs in northeastern Georgia, state officials announced Tuesday.
Gov. Nathan Deal’s office said that SK Innovation picked Jackson County, north of Athens, Georgia, as the site of its first U.S. vehicle battery plant.
The subsidiary of Korean conglomerate SK Group is expected to invest $1.67 billion in the project. Construction will take place in two phases, with each step adding about 1 million square feet of manufacturing space and 1,000 workers.
SK officials said that the company made the announcement following a search for “a production base to secure competitiveness in the battery business in the major global market.” SK Innovation supplies automakers including Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai-Kia, both of which operate auto plants in the Southern United States.
“With our business in the hub of the global auto industry, we will grow as a top player in the battery business,” SK Innovation chief executive Kim Jun said in a statement.
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