LG and General Motors announce third factory in the US

LG Energy Solution, together with General Motors, is planning to build a third battery factory in the US with a capacity of 50GWh.

The pair’s joint venture, Ultium Cells, will spend US$2.6 billion on the project, which is expected to be completed during the second half of 2024.

Ultium Cells is currently building its first factory in Ohio and its second in Tennessee. Each factory has a capacity of 35GWh.

Once the third factory is completed, the company will have a capacity of 120GWh per year.

Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution is also planning to form a joint venture with Stellantis with a capacity of 40GWh, which will start production during the first quarter of 2024.

The South Korean company is also planning to build its own wholly-owned factory with a capacity of 40GWh in the US.

LG Energy Solution is expanding its battery production capacity in the US as the North American electric vehicle market is expected to grow substantially going forward.

According to market research firm IHS, the EV battery market will be worth 143GWh in 2023 and 286GWh in 2025.

LG Energy Solution’s shares will list and begin trading in South Korea’s stock exchange on Thursday.