General Motors and LG Energy have announced that they will invest an additional $275 million to expand their joint venture to manufacture battery cells in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with the goal of increasing production by more than 40%.
The new investment between the two technology poles is in addition to the $2.3 billion announced in April 2021 to build a 2.8-million-square-foot joint venture facility, known as Ultium Cells LLC, which is slated to start production late next year 2023.
The new investment between the two companies is expected to increase the total capacity of the plant from 35 GWh to 50 GWh when it is fully operational.
and upon its completion; The Ultium Cells LLC facility in Tennessee will join the two companies’ other shared battery cell manufacturing sites in Ohio and Michigan (which is also under construction and is expected to start production in late 2024). General Motors and LG are also considering building a fourth site worth $2.4 billion in New Carlisle, Indiana.
Domestic production of battery cells in North America is seen as crucial for automakers in the coming years in order to grow their electric footprint, and to receive federal incentives under the Biden administration’s new inflation-cutting law.
“Our dual battery cell manufacturing venture will play an important role in making GM’s commitment to an all-electric future a reality,” said Tim Herrick, GM Vice President. The investment in the new Spring Hill location will help the company provide customers with the broadest portfolio of electric vehicles of any automaker, and further enhance our path to electric vehicle leadership in the United States.”