South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd and General Motors will invest more than $2.3 billion in an electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in Tennessee, the companies announced on Friday.
LG Energy in a statement said that Ultium Cells, the joint venture between LG and GM, will build a second US factory with an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours, similar to the first one under construction in Ohio.
“With the joint venture’s factory construction, LG Energy Solution has secured additional EV battery production capacity in the U.S. and will actively target the rapidly growing U.S. EV market,” LG Energy said in a statement.
LG Energy further said that the Tennessee factory will have 35 gigawatt-hours of annual capacity, which is enough to provide battery packs for more than 500,000 electric vehicles.
Reports suggest construction on the 2.8 million-square-foot factory will begin immediately as the plant, which is expected to create 1,300 jobs, is scheduled to open in late 2023.
According to Yonhap news agency, both LG Energy and GM has committed to invest $933.5 million each for the battery production line through 2023.
The planned construction of the EV battery factory came as GM plans to phase out internal combustion engine cars by 2035 and set a goal of offering 30 all-electric models by the middle of the decade, which would require a stable supply of EV batteries.
LG Energy currently operates a lithium-ion battery factory in Michigan and is building a new factory in Ohio through Ultium Cells, which will be completed in 2022.
The world’s No 2 battery maker said last month it plans to invest more than 5 trillion won to expand U.S. battery production capacity by 2025, including a scheme to build at least two new plants.
LG Energy vowed to step up its EV battery business in the U.S. after recently reaching an agreement on a two-year-long trade secret suit over EV battery technology. Its smaller home rival SK Innovation Co. agreed to pay 2 trillion won to LG Energy.
On the other hand, GM is expected to continue to convert its facilities to battery plants in the US as the firm is headed towards its target to exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035.