Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is on the rise as more and more consumers are switching gears and opting for cleaner, more efficient, sustainable solutions for their transportation needs. EV sales in North America jumped 49% in 2022 from the previous year – even as overall car sales fell by 17%.
That demand for EVs means an equal demand for batteries to power the vehicles.
SK Battery America, a leading developer of lithium-ion batteries for EVs, is meeting that demand with a new production facility in Commerce, Georgia. The company spent $2.6 billion to build two battery manufacturing plants. The massive 2.4 million square foot facility is as long as 13 football fields and will employ 3,000 people by the end of 2023, representing one of the largest investments in a job-creating initiative in Georgia’s history. The batteries made in these plants will power the new Ford F-150 Lightning and the Volkswagen ID.4.
for an Effecient Battery Plant
Designed by MAP Hanterin and built by Clayco, the new SK Battery facility includes 456,000 square feet of Kingspan KS Micro-Rib insulated metal panels with QuadCore® technology. The panels were installed by CladAxis.
Just as consumers are opting for more efficient, cost-effective, sustainable solutions, so is the building industry. Kingspan insulated metal panels decrease a building’s energy use and carbon footprint by providing an airtight, highly efficient envelope that reduces thermal bridging. Kingspan's IMPs also help facilitate the circular economy by utilizing recycled materials during the manufacturing process and are easily disassembled for end-of-life recycling options.
Kingspan’s KS line of panels are perfectly suited for large-scale projects like the SK Battery plant, from the speed-of-build advantage to adding some architectural flair Kingspan’s QuadCore insulation core is 11% more thermally efficient than PIR and up to 60% more thermally efficient than PUR insulation cores. Kingspan’s QuadCore also offers superior fire protection and has been tested to the NFPA 285 standard.
Battery manufacturing plants - often referred to as gigafactories – are proliferating, driven by the demand for EVs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 13 new gigafactories are expected to come online by 2025. Like the SK Battery plant, many of these new factories are in an area stretching from the Southeast up through the Midwest and into Michigan; that sector has earned the moniker the “Battery Belt” for the collection of new plants that are reshaping local economies.
By 2030, EV manufacturing capacity will be enough so support the production of between 10 million and 13 million EVs annually, making the U.S. competitive on a global scale.