The patent dispute between the two Korean manufacturers of lithium batteries lasted from June 2019, by February of this year, it materialized into a ban by ITC on the import and manufacture of SK Innovation products in the United States for a period of ten years. President Biden retained the right to veto the decision until Sunday, but the parties were reconciled without his intervention.

Bloomberg was the first to announce the reconciliation of the parties, refusing to disclose the exact details of the agreement between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation. The issue of withdrawing claims in exchange for serious monetary compensation was raised by the parties earlier, but SK Innovation called the discussed amount unaffordable. A share swap would have helped to avoid cash payments, but so far there is no evidence that it has taken place.

Recall that the decision of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) prohibited SK Innovation from importing or producing lithium batteries locally for ten years. As an exception, they were given the opportunity to supply them to Ford Motor for four years, and Volkswagen for two.

LG Energy Solution is completing construction of a traction battery manufacturing facility for electric vehicles in Ohio, which will supply products to General Motors. Another $ 2,3 billion facility will be built in Tennessee, and a battery production facility in Michigan is already operational. SK Innovation in Georgia is close to completion of a plant worth about $ 2,6 billion, the fate of which in the event of the entry into force of the ITC decision remained in question. It is planned to build another enterprise in the neighborhood, which will provide work for 6000 local residents. In the future, it could supply batteries not only to Ford and Volkswagen.