South Korea’s energy giant SK Innovation will invest $2.2 billion (£1.6bn) into the construction of a new battery plant in Hungary.

The factory will have a production capacity of 30 GWh every year, will be located 50 kilometres southwest of Budapest and will cover an area of 98 football stadiums.

The investment comes as manufacturers switch their production into electric vehicles (EVs) and global demand for batteries is increasing.

According to recent reports, demand for European EV batteries is expected to increase more than six times to 256GWh by 2025, from the current 41GWh.

SK Innovation started as the Korea Oil Corporation, the ‘first’ refining and chemical company in the country. Since then the company has been working in various fields, including petroleum production, lubricants and battery production.

Kim Jun, Chief Executive Officer of SK Innovation, said: “The investment decision made this time will lead the battery business of SK Innovation to greatly contribute to the value chains and ecosystem and to become a leading global company in the global EV industry.”