LG Energy Solution will invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business through 2025.
The investment will see the company boost its local battery production capacity by 70 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and LG has confirmed that it will built two new plants. This will add 4,000 new jobs in the U.S., while the company will select the locations of the new battery manufacturing plants in the first half of the year.
In a statement, president of LG Energy Solution’s Michigan unit, Denise Gray, said the investments are being made in response to the growing demand for electric vehicles, adding the new manufacturing facilities will indirectly create another 6,000 jobs during their construction.
“We are eager to expand our production capacity so that it can meet the needs of the numerous global automakers across the U.S. and Europe,” Gray said.
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LG Chem is currently building a manufacturing facility in Lordstown, Ohio through its joint venture with General Motors and is also in advanced talks with the car manufacturer to build a second cell manufacturing plant in Tennessee worth over $2 billion, Reuters reports.
“This is more about (having a) very proactive and preemptive investment plan prior to confirmation of demand from our customers,” LG Energy Solution Senior vice president Chang Seung-se said of the investment. “By adding this capacity earlier… we can quickly respond to market demand and customers’ orders.”
News of this investment come a few weeks after the U.S. International Trade Commission sided with LG Chem after the South Korean company accused SK Innovation of stealing trade secrets.
