General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution announced their joint venture will invest an additional $275 million into its Tennessee Electric Vehicle (EV) battery cell manufacturing plant.
Officials representing the joint venture had already pledged to commit $2.3 billion to create the Spring Hill Tennessee factory. The additional commitment is expected to increase the production capacity of the plant by 40% when it is fully operational. The 2.8 million square-foot plant is expected to begin production toward the end of 2023.
The joint venture, named Ultium Cells LLC, will result in three different plants being built. In addition to the plant in Tennessee, there will also be one plant in Michigan, and another in Ohio. The venture has promised a fourth plant, however it is still in the planning stages, and no site has been officially named.
Tom Gallagher, Ultium Cells vice president for operations, noted the partnership already has employees training in Poland to begin operations at the Tennessee plant, adding, “We’re here because we know we can be successful with your partnership. It’s an exciting journey that we’re on.”
Combined, the three plants are expected to produce 6,000 construction jobs, and 5,100 operations jobs.
The joint venture will also receive an additional $2.5 billion from the federal government to help construct the plants.
GM’s battery plant is just the latest battery manufacturing facility to hit the news. Toyota announced last year if would be building a $1.3 billion battery manufacturing facility in North Carolina, while Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, has announced it will build two new battery manufacturing facilities in North America. Ford has three more battery manufacturing facilities under construction in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Last month, Tennessee announced the state would be investing $3.2 billion in a venture with South Korea-based LG Chem, constructing a cathode materials manufacturing facility which would serve EV battery manufacturers. That venture is expected to create over 850 jobs. Republican Gov. Bill Lee, regarding the deal, said, “We are now a state that’s the center of future of the automotive industry.”
GM has declared that the company intends to sell only electric vehicles by 2035. By 2025, the company will debut 30 electric vehicles globally, and through that year it will invest $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles, as it transitions to the new Green Vehicle revolution.
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