SK IE Technology (SKIET), a material solution provider SK Group, said Friday that it has signed an agreement with Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup to supply electric vehicle battery separators to its EV battery manufacturing affiliate VinES.

The two firms clinched a deal on July 26th, when VinES President Pham Thuy Linh and executives visited the SKIET headquarters in Seoul and its factory in North Chungcheong Province, according to the Korean firm.

A battery separator is one of the core parts of EV batteries, which keeps the two electrodes apart to prevent batteries from electrical short circuiting and exploding.

The recent deal comes amid SK Group’s acceleration into energy business expansion in Southeast Asia. In 2019, the Korean conglomerate purchased a 6.1 percent stake in VinGroup for 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion), in an aim to seek various business opportunities in the country. 

“We will venture into opportunities to diversity our business portfolio through a partnership with Vietnam’s representative conglomerate by promoting SKIET’s exclusive technology prowess and safety,” said SKIET CEO Roh Jae-seok.

VinES is a company set up by Vingroup for stable supply of EV batteries to carmaker unit VinFast, founded in 2017. VinFast, Vietnam’s first automotive manufacturer, announced in April that it would stop making gasoline cars and go 100 percent electric for its models. 

Expanding its reach to the North American market, VinFast is building a 150,000-annual-capacity production plant in the US state of North Carolina with a 2.6 trillion won investment. The plant plans to start operation in 2024.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)