Posted on 15 Dec 2025
South Korean battery maker SK On said Thursday it will end its 50-50 joint venture with Ford in the US, restructuring ownership of two plants, Kallanish reports.
Under the reorganisation of the Blue Oval SK joint venture, SK On will operate the Tennessee plant and Ford will operate the Kentucky plant. The South Korean company says it will still hold a “strong” strategic partnership with the carmaker, centred around its Tennessee plant. It’s unclear if the companies are already negotiating supply agreements.
The decision, SK On says, is a strategic move to “improve productivity, operational flexibility, and speed of response through selection and concentration.”
The joint venture is expected to be fully dissolved by the end of the first quarter of 2026, subject to approvals from relevant authorities.
With a planned production capacity of 45 gigawatt-hours, the Tennessee plant will produce batteries for both EVs and energy storage systems. The focus for SK On is on “strengthening its profitability in the North American market,” and the company has yet to confirm a timeline for the start of production.
The Kentucky plant produced its first batteries in August, aimed at supplying Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightening pickup truck and the current E-Transit van. Ford announced in 2021 the joint venture would invest $11.4 billion to build three gigafactories (two in Kentucky and one in Tennessee), targeting 129 GWh of production capacity for Ford.
Since then, the US carmaker has downgraded its EV ambitions, with ceo Jim Farley recently criticising European policy, saying the region sets “unrealistic EV regulations” to only adjust them when consumers don’t show up. “Brussels is not alone in issuing regulations that are out of step with market reality,” he said in an opinion piece for the Financial Times this week.
Kallanish has contacted Blue Oval for further information.
Source:Kallanish
