South Korea is home to major producers of lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs) and to one of the world’s biggest automakers, Hyundai Motor, and its affiliate Kia (000270.KS), opens new tab, which are making a push to shift away from internal combustion cars to EVs.
A lithium battery factory in South Korea was set on fire after multiple batteries exploded on Monday, killing 22 workers, most of them Chinese nationals, fire officials said.
The fire and a series of explosions ripped through the factory run by primary battery manufacturer Aricell in Hwaseong, an industrial cluster southwest of the capital Seoul, Reuters reported.