SK Nexilis to sell copper foil to German battery maker Varta

South Korea’s SK Nexilis Co. is set to supply copper foil, core materials for electric vehicle cells, to German battery maker Varta AG, expanding its presence in Europe, the world’s third-largest EV market.

SK Nexilis signed an exclusive deal to supply all the copper foil needed for Varta’s first project to mass-produce secondary batteries for EVs, according to its parent company SKC Ltd., a South Korean chemicals maker, on Monday.

SK Nexilis is also in talks with the German manufacturer of batteries for automotive, industrial and consumer products for long-term contracts to supply the EV cell materials for more than five years depending on Varta’s capacity expansion, SKC said in a statement.

The company has yet to unveil details such as supply volume and values, citing a non-disclosure agreement.

Varta is seeking to expand its business to EV batteries with investments of more than 300 million euros ($329.8 million) from the German government and others. The company is manufacturing products at a pilot production line in Baden-Württemberg. It is scheduled to start operating an EV battery factory with an annual capacity of 3 gigawatt-hours in 2026, according to SKC.

GROWING DEMAND FOR HIGH-QUALITY COPPER FOIL

“It is very encouraging for SK Nexilis to expand supplies of its differentiated high-quality and high-strength copper foil to global customers,” said an SK Nexilis official said.

SK Nexilis in February bagged a 1.4 trillion won ($1.1 billion) deal to sell copper foil to Northvolt AB, Europe’s largest EV battery maker.

The company is actively looking for potential buyers in the region as it is building a copper foil plant in Poland with an investment of $761 million for commercial operations from 2024.

Demand for high-quality copper foil from global EV battery makers is increasing as they seek to maximize productivity and stabilize manufacturing processes in line with rapid growth in the EV market.

SK Nexilis, which plans to supply copper foil with more than 40% higher tensile strength than other products to Varta, continues to expand its high-quality copper foil lineups through research and development, SKC said.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.