South Korea’s largest copper foil producer is preparing to relocate part of its domestic operations to Uzbekistan, highlighting the mounting pressure from industrial electricity rate increases that have exceeded 60% over three years.
SK Nexilis, a wholly owned subsidiary of SKC, has received board approval to transfer assets from its Jeongeup plant in North Jeolla Province to the Central Asian nation, where electricity costs are reportedly 40% lower than in South Korea. The move represents a significant shift for the company, which currently operates six production facilities at the Jeongeup site.
The decision reflects broader challenges facing energy-intensive Korean manufacturers. Korea Electric Power Corporation has accumulated losses of 43 trillion won ($31.2 billion) between 2021 and 2023, leading to repeated tariff increases that disproportionately impact industrial users.
Uzbekistan’s business electricity rates of around $0.071 per kilowatt-hour compare favorably to South Korea’s $0.122 per kWh, offering substantial cost savings for copper foil production, which requires continuous high-energy operations.
SK Nexilis already operates manufacturing sites in Malaysia and has facilities under construction in Poland. The company supplies copper foil to major battery manufacturers including Tesla suppliers and European automakers, with global demand forecast to reach 750,000 tons by 2025 from current levels of around 270,000 tons.
