LG Energy begins production at US battery cell plant

SEOUL: LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES), South Korea's leading battery maker, said on Tuesday that its joint venture with General Motors began production at their second battery plant in the United States.

The first round of battery cells produced at the plant have been delivered to GM for installation in the all-electric Cadillac Lyriq SUV and other upcoming electric vehicles of GM, LGES said in a statement.

Ultium Cells LLC., the joint company set up between LGES and GM in 2019, began operations of their first U.S. plant, located in Ohio, in November 2022 and plans to start production on a third plant in Michigan next year, reports Yonhap news agency.

Ultium Cells will gradually increase its second plant's battery cell output capacity to 50 gigawatt-hours (Gwh) annually, which is capable of producing 600,000 high-performance EVs that can travel more than 500 kms on a single charge, the statement said.

The company didn't give the second plant's current capacity.

In North America, LGES currently operates three battery cell plants -- the first and second plants under the JV with GM, and one in Holland, Michigan.

Plants under JVs with GM, Hyundai Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Stellantis N.V. are being constructed in the U.S. states of Michigan, Georgia and Ohio, as well as Ontario, Canada, respectively.

In other regions, the company has plants in South Korea, Poland and China, with a plant set to start production in Indonesia in the first half of 2024.