General Motors and LG Energy Solution have started production at their 2.8-million-square-foot Ultium Cells LLC plant in Ohio.
The plant currently employs more than 800 people and production will be ramped up throughout the year where the workforce will grow to 1,300. Reuters notes that Ohio governor Mike DeWine toured the Ultium plant on Wednesday.
GM’s joint venture with LG Energy Solution will lead to the formation of various other battery plants throughout the United States. In fact, they have already committed $2.6 billion to build a cell plant in Lansing, Michigan, will spend $2.3 billion in establishing a cell factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and is considering a $2.4 billion site in New Carlisle, Indiana.
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The Ohio plant will provide cells for GM’s host of Ultium models such as the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq.
The U.S. Energy Department has committed to loaning Ultium $2.5 billion to help finance the construction of the sites in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan
The money for this loan comes from the government’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program and will require GM and LG to offer employees the local prevailing wage and fringe benefits. The ATVM program has $17.7 billion in lending authority.
LG isn’t just working with General Motors either. In fact, it recently announced a partnership with Honda that will see it establish a plant in the United States at the cost of $4.4 billion and with an annual capacity of 40 GWh. The exact location of this plant has yet to be finalized but construction is expected to start in early 2023 while production of lithium-ion battery cells may commence in late 2025.
