LG Chem Breaks Ground on Largest Cathode Material Plant in Tennessee, Establishing North American Production Base

LG Chem has broken ground on the largest cathode material factory in the United States. Through a dedicated factory for North American customers, including General Motors (GM), the company plans to establish a stable battery material supply chain and significantly strengthen its local responsiveness.

On the 19th (local time), LG Chem held a groundbreaking ceremony for the cathode material factory in Clarksville, Tennessee, attended by Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Senator Marsha Blackburn, and Ambassador Cho Hyun-dong to the United States. This comes 13 months after LG Chem signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state of Tennessee for the construction of the cathode material factory.

LG Chem will invest approximately 2 trillion KRW in the first phase on a 1.7 million square meter site secured in Clarksville to build an NCMA (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese-Aluminum) cathode material factory with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons. This capacity is enough to produce cathode materials for about 600,000 high-performance pure electric vehicles (EVs), making it the largest scale in the United States. Mass production will begin in earnest from 2026.

Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol said, "We will start with 60,000 tons in the first phase and plan to expand while monitoring supply conditions," adding, "Although it starts as a cathode material factory, it will be positioned as LG Chem’s comprehensive battery material center in North America."

The Tennessee factory, dedicated to North American customers, will serve as a production base cooperating with local electric vehicle and battery companies from development to supply chain. Located in the mid-eastern United States, Tennessee is characterized by excellent geographical accessibility for customer deliveries and raw material imports. It is also home to battery joint ventures of LG Chem’s customers, such as GM and LG Energy Solution.

Through the Tennessee factory, LG Chem plans to actively support its customers in meeting the electric vehicle subsidy criteria under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). A stable supply chain has also been established by using precursors produced by Korea Precursor Company (KPC), a joint venture between LG Chem and Korea Zinc, in Ulsan. Additionally, LG Chem has advanced the design technology of the heat treatment sintering process to secure world-class manufacturing competitiveness with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons per production line, and will apply smart factory technology. Furthermore, the company is discussing cooperation with domestic U.S. battery recycling companies and material supply chains, and will operate the factory using 100% renewable energy such as solar and hydro power in collaboration with nearby power suppliers.

Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol emphasized, "LG Chem will become the number one cathode material company in North America by providing differentiated value to customers centered on the Tennessee factory," and added, "We will execute LG Chem’s vision to become the world’s best comprehensive battery material company by establishing a stable battery material supply chain that maintains competitiveness regardless of any environment."

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