SEOUL/FRANKFURT, Germany -- South Korean producers of lithium-ion batteries are looking to develop new markets in Europe and the U.S. as fierce competition and regulatory restrictions hamper their growth in China, the world's largest electric-vehicle market.
SK Innovation, an energy and chemical arm of conglomerate SK group, intends to open automobile battery plants in the U.S. and Hungary by 2022. LG Chem, the No. 4 player worldwide, plans to use its second Chinese plant under construction in Nanjing as an export hub to markets like the U.S. and Europe.
