SK On's plant in Tennessee, US (SK On) SK On, the battery manufacturing unit of SK Group, said Thursday it has completed the dissolution of its US joint venture with Ford Motor, taking full control of the previously co-operated BlueOval SK battery plant in Tennessee.SK On said it has finalized the restructuring and now independently operates the facility, which was renamed from BlueOval SK to SK On Tennessee. The restructuring comes five months after the two companies announced plans to end their three-year joint operation of BlueOval SK.Under the agreement, SK On will take full ownership and operate the Tennessee plant, while Ford will take sole ownership and operation of the two battery plants in Kentucky.The dissolution is expected to provide substantial financial relief for SK On, amid high interest rates. The company estimates the restructuring could trim its debt obligations by around 5.4 trillion won ($3.59 billion).SK On said the reduced borrowing burden is expected to generate annual interest cost savings of approximately 270 billion won. The company also expects to lower annual depreciation expenses tied to the Kentucky plants by roughly 330 billion won.“We were able to strengthen our financial structure and improve the efficiency of our US production operations through the restructuring of the JV,” said an SK On official. “Based on the newly secured independent production base, we will actively respond to changes in the North American market.”BlueOval SK was established in 2022 as a 50:50 joint venture between SK On and Ford through an $11.4 billion investment. The venture operated three battery facilities, including two in Kentucky and one in Tennessee.