EV Battery Supply Chain Impacts for Friend-shoring and Reshoring of South Korean Companies

Abstract

The global electric vehicle (EV) industry is focusing on strengthening the resilience and security of the EV battery supply chain, particularly due to China's dominant position in anode and cathode production. South Korean companies have initiated reshoring strategies, exemplified by the recent reopening of a cathode plant in Texas, to reduce their reliance on China. This paper discusses the implications of South Korea's reshoring efforts and explores the potential for establishing mutually beneficial, reconfigured supply chains between the U.S. and South Korea. It also emphasizes the significance of considering geopolitical events in supply chain modeling to enhance resilience and introduces a geopolitical risk model accounting for both reshoring and friend-shoring scenarios.