Snapshot
LGES, GM to build $2.6 billion EV battery plant in Michigan through their join venture Ultium Cells.
The Ultium Cells Lansing site represents LG and GM joint venture ‘s third battery cell manufacturing site in the U.S., following two battery cell manufacturing plants being constructed in Ohio and Tennessee.
After entering the first phase of mass production in early 2025, the new plant will have an annual capacity of 50 gigawatt-hours of battery cells, enabling annual production of 700,000 high-performance EVs that can drive over 500 kilometers on a single charge.
Leading automaker GM and Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution, announced on Wednesday (Jan 25) that they will building their third electric vehicle (EV) battery cell manufacturing plant in U.S by investing $2.6 billion.
Ultium Cells, the joint venture set up by the two companies in 2009, will construct the new electric vehicle (EV) battery cell plant in the city of Lansing in the Midwestern state of Michigan
The site preparations for the new plan will begin this summer and battery cell production is scheduled to begin in late 2024. The proposed Ultium Cells unit at Lansing will supply battery cells to Orion Assembly and other GM assembly plants.
The 2.8 million-square-foot facility will be located on land leased from GM, creating 1,700 new jobs when it is fully operational.
After entering the first phase of mass production in early 2025, the new plant will have an annual capacity of 50 gigawatt-hours of battery cells, enabling annual production of 700,000 high-performance EVs that can drive over 500 kilometers on a single charge.
The Ultium Cells Lansing site represents LGES-GM joint venture’s third battery cell manufacturing site in the U.S., following two battery cell manufacturing plants being constructed in Ohio and Tennessee.
Ultium Cells plans to commence operations of its first factory in Ohio this year. The battery manufacturing unit in Tennessee will begin production in 2023. Battery cells produced in the three factories will be supplied to GM’s EV assembly plants, including Orion Township Assembly in Michigan.
The announcement comes a day before the Korean battery maker’s blockbuster debut on the benchmark KOSPI market, which attracted a record-high 114 trillion won ($95 billion) in a two-day public subscription period last week.
As part of its ambition to become the EV market leader in North America by 2025.GM also announced on Wednesday (Jan 26) that it make an investment of more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites to significantly increasing the company’s battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity. This is the single largest investment announcement in GM history.
Besides the investing in construction of a new Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Lansing, the automobile behemoth announced plans for conversion of GM’s assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan for production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra, GM’s second assembly plant scheduled to build full-size electric pickups.
LG is expanding its presence in the U.S. EV battery market
LG Energy, currently the world’s second-largest EV battery maker, enjoys a 23.8% market share. China’s CATL is the market leader with a 31.2% share, while Japan’s Panasonic came in third at 13.3%.
The company said that it will use the proceeds from the IPO to expand domestic and overseas production.
It proposes to expand production capacity at its facility in the South Korean city of Cheongju. The company, which currently operate a plan in Michigan as a joint venture with General Motors, is building two others in US – Ohio and Tennessee. Its European plant is based in the Polish city of Wroclaw.
LG Energy is also partnering with global carmaker Stellantis N.V. to build a battery plant in North America to produce 40 gigawatt-hours of battery cells every year.
It is also is seeking to establish a joint battery plant in the United States with Japanese automaker Honda Motor.