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| LG Energy Solution's battery plant in Michigan / Courtesy of LG Energy Solution |
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Energy Solution and General Motors (GM) are eyeing the construction of a new battery-manufacturing plant in the U.S. state of Tennessee to meet growing demand for battery cells for electric vehicles (EVs).
LG Group's battery-making affiliate and GM are considering building a second battery factory in the U.S. as representatives from the two companies are in advanced talks with Tennessee state government officials, Reuters quoted sources as saying Thursday (local time).
GM confirmed it was "exploring the feasibility of constructing a second, state-of-the-art battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States" with LG Energy Solution. The LG affiliate already operates a plant in Michigan, and the two companies have been in a partnership to build a battery-production plant in Ohio, which will be up and running in 2022.
The sources said the new factory could be located near GM's plant in Spring Hill, a city located south of Nashville. And the scale of investment would be similar to that of the two companies' Ohio plant, which cost $2.3 billion.
GM has already announced a bold plan to go all-electric by 2035, phasing out gasoline and diesel engines.
A company official at LG Energy Solution said discussions were taking place for additional investments with the Detroit-based automaker. "We can't comment on the specifics without our partner's consent, but we're holding discussions to make further investments with GM."
"To fulfill EV battery demand in the U.S., LG Energy Solution is also planning additional capacity expansion at other global OEMs located in the U.S. LG is fully committed to investing in the United States to secure the market leader position and to develop a robust US manufacturing base as well as a localized supply chain for EV batteries," the official added.
