Gov. Brian Kemp called on Biden, Friday (local time), to review a ruling that went against SK Innovation which is building a $2.6 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Commerce that the company has said will employ 2,600 workers.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) ruled Wednesday that SK Innovation (SKI) stole 22 trade secrets from its competitor LG Energy Solution (LGES) and that the company should be barred from importing, making, or selling batteries in the United States for 10 years. LGES is a unit of another South Korean conglomerate, LG Group.
SKI has contracts to supply batteries for an electric Ford F-150 truck and an electric Volkswagen SUV to be manufactured in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The USITC said SKI can supply batteries to Ford Motor for four years and to Volkswagen for two years, saying it had tailored its ruling to not disrupt those customers. It can also repair and replace batteries in Kia vehicles that have already been sold.
Biden has 60 days to review or block the ruling.
”President Biden and his administration also have the opportunity to support thousands of hardworking Georgians ― and their communities ― who would benefit from SK Innovation’s continued success in our state,” Kemp, a Republican, said in a statement that also urged Georgia’s congressional delegation to step in.
LGES had accused SKI of hiring away dozens of employees to steal battery technology, and an administrative law judge ruled in its favor last year. The USITC upheld the ruling Wednesday.
SKI’s ”total disregard of our warnings and intellectual property rights gave us no choice but to file this case,” said John Hyun Jim, CEO of LGES. ”We are grateful to the International Trade Commission for protecting our innovations and significant economic investments in the United States.”
In response, SKI said it has ”serious concerns about the commercial and operational implications of this decision for the future of our EV-battery facility in Commerce, Georgia.” The state gave $300 million in the free land, cash, and other incentives for the factory, which is now partially built and is supposed to open in 2022.
The company also said the setback could hurt the Biden administration’s goals to increase EV numbers in the U.S. to fight carbon emissions and climate change.
”We look forward to having detailed discussions with Biden administration officials charged with reviewing the ITC’s ruling and carrying out the president’s policies related to electric vehicles and the environment,” SK said.
LGES left open the possibility that SKI could end the dispute by paying to license its technology.
”All we want is for the plant to not use our technology, or if you want to use the technology, come clean to us and pay compensation under the law, and we’ll be happy to discuss a commercial resolution to this,” LGES attorney Song Jung told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Thursday.
LGES makes EV batteries in a factory in Detroit and has another under construction in Ohio. (AP)
