SK Innovation Shares Jump 7% After SK On Wins 1.5 Trillion Won Battery Deal

Shares of SK Innovation rocketed more than 7% on Monday after its battery subsidiary SK On announced it had won a large-scale energy storage system (ESS) supply contract worth approximately 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion).

On the Korea Exchange, SK Innovation closed at 125,500 won, up 7.36% from the previous session. The rally stood out sharply against the wider market, with the benchmark KOSPI index rising just 0.46% on the same day, meaning SK Innovation's gain was more than fifteen times the index's advance.

The stock's jump came directly on the back of news that SK On had landed the sizeable battery order, a deal investors interpreted as a strong vote of confidence in the unit's growing footprint in the ESS market, an area that has increasingly become a second growth pillar alongside electric-vehicle batteries for battery makers facing slower EV demand growth.

The rally also helped SK Innovation claw back much of the ground it had lost following an earlier merger-related announcement that had weighed on the stock. Monday's surge recovered the bulk of that decline, according to trading data from the day.

Market watchers noted that new large-scale battery orders have become key catalysts for battery stocks this year, as investors look past near-term EV slowdown concerns toward diversified revenue streams such as ESS, which is benefiting from booming global demand for grid storage and data-center power backup.

SK Innovation has not disclosed further details on the timeline or client behind the new contract, but the scale of the order underscores SK On's push to expand its ESS battery business as a source of stable, large-volume revenue.