South Korea’s LG Energy Solution announced that they plan to invest more than $4.5 billion over the next four years to expand its battery production in the US as part of its Green Field Project.
Green Fields project
The Green Fields project was established to get a foothold in the growing US battery and electric vehicle market. The project was aimed at providing a large-scale supply of environmentally friendly batteries to increase renewable energy sources for the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage systems (ESS) sectors.
LG Energy Solution had invested $600 million in its first 5 GWh/year plant in Michigan in 2012. The company said: “In the second half of last year, the Michigan battery plant began running entirely on renewable energy.”
Capacity of 110GWh/year
LG reported that the investment by the end of 2025 will secure an additional 70GWh of U.S. battery production capacity to respond to growth in the electric vehicle market.
The company said on March 11 that the latest Green Field project would give the company a total US production capacity of over 110GWh.
JV partnership with GM
Automaker General Motors and LG had entered into a joint venture in 2019. The partners are currently nearing completion of a JV cell manufacturing plant in Ohio. LG said that the $2.3 billion 35 GWh/year battery plant in Ohio is expected to be completed by 2022.
LG announced that it was in discussions with GM to build a second JV plant in the US, having a similar 35 GWh/year production capacity. The partners said that the new facility would produce pouch cell batteries to be used in EVs and ESS, as well as the in-demand cylindrical cell EV batteries.
The JV partners said that they would be selecting at least two location candidates in H1 2021 and the final decision on the location of the second facility would be made after board review.
Management comments
LG Energy Solution CEO Jong Hyun Kim said: “The goals of the US president and automakers would be a propelling factor in the growth of the country’s electric vehicle and energy storage systems markets. Through these commitments, the company aims to secure its leadership position as a strong, essential partner in the EV and ESS market and contribute to the success of the US auto industry and economy.
All new LG Energy Solution plants in the US will operate using 100% renewable energy, reinforcing the company’s dedication to its Green Field project.”
LG said that it would also be building “solid and stable US-based supply chains that provide an extensive range from research to product development and production, as well as the procurement of raw components.”