LG, GM to invest additional $275 million to expand US battery facility

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - LG Energy Solution and General Motors announced Friday that their joint battery cell manufacturing company, Ultium Cells, is investing an additional $275 million at its Spring Hill facility in the US state of Tennessee.

The investment aims to increase the facility’s battery cell output by more than 4o%, from 35 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 50 GWh, when the plant becomes fully operational in late 2023.

The latest figure comes on top of the $2.3 billion investment announced in April 2021.

The expansion in output capacity is estimated to create 400 additional new jobs, bringing the expected total to 1,700.

"Ultium Cells is taking the appropriate steps to support GM’s plan for more than 1 million units of EV capacity in North America by mid-decade," Tom Gallagher, Ultium Cells LLC vice president of operations, said in a statement.

Tim Herrick, GM’s vice president of EV Launch Excellence, said: "Ultium Cells will play a critical role in making GM’s commitment to an all-electric future a reality."

Charles Oh Young Hyun, president of LG Energy Solution Michigan, said LG will employ its decades-long experience in battery technology and manufacturing to produce quality products.

In addition to the Tennessee facility, Ultium Cells has battery cell manufacturing sites in the US states of Ohio and Michigan.

The company said it expects to have more than 130 GWh of battery cell capacity when all three facilities are at full production capacity later this decade.