LG Energy, General Motors to set up EV battery factory worth $2.3 billion in the US

South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution Ltd has announced that its joint venture with American automaker General Motors Corp. will construct a $2.3 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in Tennessee in the US.

Ultium Cells, the joint venture between LG and GM, will construct a second US factory with an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours (GWh), alike to the first one under construction in Ohio, LG Energy said.

"With the joint venture's factory construction, LG Energy Solution has secured additional EV battery production capacity in the U.S. and will dynamically target the swiftly growing U.S. EV market," LG Energy said in a declaration.

The Tennessee factory will have 35 gigawatt-hours of annual capacity when it opens in late 2023, which is sufficient to provide battery packs for more than 500,000 electric vehicles, the Korean firm said.

LG Energy said in a regulatory briefing on Friday that it and GM will each capitalize $933.5 million 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 (ICE) cars by 2035 and set a goal of offering 30 all-electric models by the middle of the decade, which would entail a stable supply of EV batteries.

LG Energy at present operates a lithium-ion battery factory in Michigan and is building a new factory in Ohio through Ultium Cells, which will be accomplished in 2022.