LGES Teams Up with GM to Build 3rd Joint Venture EV Battery Plant in U.S.

Senior Executive Vice President Kim Dong-myung, head of LG Energy Solution (LGES) Advanced Automotive Battery Division speaks about a plan to invest $2.6 billion into a third EV battery plant of Ultium Cells at Lansing, Michigan, on Jan. 25.

LG Energy Solution (LGES) has joined forces with GM in building a third joint venture EV battery plant in the United States.

The companies disclosed a plan to invest $2.6 billion into a third EV battery plant of Ultium Cells at a session at Lansing, Michigan, on Jan. 25, where the plant will be located.

The plant is scheduled to be built by the second half of 2024. Both companies will launch a project to build their 3rd joint venture EV battery plant this year.

The plant will begin mass producing EV batteries in early 2025, and its annual production capacity will be expanded to 50GWh gradually.

The capacity is enough to power about 700,000 EVs capable of running more than 500 km per charge.

Ultium Cells is building its first EV plant in Ohio and a second in Tennessee. The first and second plants will begin mass production this year and next year, respectively.

LGES and GM aim to raise Ultium Cell’s annual total capacity to more than 120GWh, including that of a third EV battery plant.

The reason for a third EV plant in two years is that the U.S. EV market is predicted to enjoy explosive growth.

The North American EV market is one of the markets with the highest growth rate around the world.

The global market survey firm HIS reported that the North American EV battery market is forecast to surge from 46GFWh in 2021 to 143GWH in 2023 and 286GWh in 2025, with an annual average growth rate of 58 percent, fueled by demand for EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs)

With the latest investment plan, LGES is expected to step on the gas to secure an upper hand in the North American EV car market. LGES has built the industry’s biggest global production structure, connecting Korea, North America, China, Poland and Indonesia.

The company is ramping up its global competitive edge by optimizing logistics costs through local production of each major center, nimbly coping with local policies and market changes and timely supplying EV batteries to nearby automakers.

LGES CEO and Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo said, “Ultium Cell’s 3rd joint venture plant in the heart of the United States will be a gateway to bear millions of EVs in the future.”

LGES and GM will contribute together to transiting to an era of EVs in the United States, he added.

GM Chairman Mary Barra said the latest plant will be a significant step for GM to become the No. 1 company in the North American EV car market. Investments into plants related to EVs, including Ultium Cell’s new plant, will come to a combined more than $7 billion, he added.

Ultium Cells, a joint venture between LGES and GM, is building an EV battery plant in Ohio, which is to mass produce in the second half of this year. (Photos: LGES)

LGES’s IPO is Biggest in Korea Since Samsung Life Insurance’s 4.8 Tln Won in 2010

LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) raised 12.8 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in its initial public offering (IPO), making it the third-biggest listed company on the KOSPI, after two South Korean big tech companies — Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix.

LGES shares were priced at 300,000 won each. The listing, which took place on Jan. 27, was the biggest in the country since Samsung Life Insurance’s 4.8 trillion won IPO in 2010.

LGES, LG Chem’s battery subsidiary, supplies Tesla Inc, General Motor and Volkswagen AG, among other automakers.

A total of 1,988 domestic and foreign institutional investors placed bids, LGES’ filing showed, valuing total bids at record $12.8 trillion.

The shares briefly doubled from their initial public offering (IPO) price before ending the day 65.8% higher.