Hyundai is pondering the possibility of establishing two additional EV battery plants in the United States alongside partner LG Energy Solution and one with SK Innovation.
Current plans call for both of the LG factories to be located in Georgia, each with an annual capacity of approximately 35 GWh which would be enough to power some 1 million electric vehicles. While neither Hyundai nor LG Energy Solution are commenting on the reports, it is understood the two plants would be positioned close to the company’s $5.5 billion EV manufacturing facility in Bryan County, Georgia.
Read: Hyundai Begins Work On $5.5 Billion U.S. Plant That Will Build EVs By Mid-2025
Reuters understands that the two battery plants will play an important role in the car manufacturer meeting new EV subsidy rules from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The act will require 40 per cent of the monetary value of critical battery minerals to be sourced from the United States or a U.S. free-trade partner from next year for a vehicle to be eligible for U.S. tax credits. This share will rise every year and hit 80 per cent in 2027.
Hyundai itself is aiming for a 7 per cent share of the global electric vehicle market by the end of the decade.
The South Korean automaker is quickly expanding its manufacturing prowess throughout the United States. In addition to planning two new battery factories with LG Energy Solution, it also plans to invest approximately $1.88 billion to build a new joint venture battery factory in the United States with SK Innovation. Production at this site could start in the first quarter of 2026 and it aims to have an initial annual production capacity of around 20 GWh which should be adequate to power around 300,000 electric vehicles. It is understood that this factory could also be located in Georgia, near the EV manufacturing plant.
