GM, LG Build Second Battery Plant in Tennessee, USA (Comprehensive)

$2.3 Billion Investment Scheduled to Begin Construction Next Year

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Major foreign media reported on the 15th that American automaker General Motors (GM), together with LG Chem, will build a second battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, USA, and will announce related details on the 16th (local time).

GM and LG Chem are currently constructing their first battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio, USA. GM previously announced that it would invest $2 billion in the construction of the Lordstown plant.

According to sources, the investment for the Spring Hill plant is expected to be slightly higher than the first plant, at $2.3 billion. Construction of the second plant is scheduled to begin next year, but the completion date has not been disclosed.

Sources stated that the Spring Hill plant will produce batteries that are more cost-efficient than those made at the Lordstown plant. They also explained that the batteries produced at the Spring Hill plant will be used in GM's Cadillac Lyriq.

LG Chem has maintained a cooperative relationship with GM since 2009. The mutual interests of GM, which aims to expand electric vehicle production, and LG Chem, which seeks to expand its presence in the U.S. market, have recently strengthened the partnership between the two companies.

Last year, LG Chem established the battery subsidiary LG Energy Solution and formed the battery production joint venture Ultium Cells with GM. A local U.S. media outlet reported that rumors about GM and LG Chem’s second battery plant have been circulating since early March, and there are also projections that a third plant will be built in Texas.

GM announced last year that it will invest $27 billion in the electric vehicle sector over the next five years. On January 28 of this year, GM declared its transformation into an electric vehicle company by stating that it will produce only electric vehicles after 2035. Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, also expressed a desire to achieve the goal of producing one million electric vehicles annually in the U.S. and China ahead of schedule by 2025.

LG Energy Solution announced last month plans to invest more than $4.5 billion in U.S. battery production over the next four years and to build at least two new plants.

The strengthening of cooperation between GM and LG Chem aligns with the policy direction of the Joe Biden administration. On the 31st of last month, U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled a $2.25 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes an investment of $174 billion for the electric vehicle ecosystem.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.