$4.3 billion: LG and Hyundai to build U.S. electric vehicle battery plant

LG and Hyundai announced this Friday (26) a partnership to build a new battery plant for electric vehicles. The plant will be set up in Savannah, Georgia, USA, adjacent to another Hyundai battery plant. The partnership includes an investment of US$4.3 billion with a 50% stake in each company.

According to information disseminated in the press, the construction of the plant will begin in the second half of 2023. The site is expected to be operational by 2025, and production capacity up to 30 GHWg per year, sufficient for a guaranteed assembly of 300,000 electric vehicles. Several companies such as General Motors and Tesla are investing in electric battery factories. With the growth of the electric vehicle segment, it makes sense for automakers to invest in expanding battery cell production and bringing more electric vehicles to the market. LG and Hyundai believe the partnership should ensure a stable supply of batteries for the region and “To respond to the growing demand for electric vehicles in the US market“.

Batteries for electric vehicles

LG and Hyundai are not the only ones investing in battery production. Major companies in the market are investing in new factories, mainly in countries such as the US and China. In 2021, Toyota announced that it would build a battery manufacturing plant in the country as part of a $3.4 billion investment. Ford also announced that it intends to spend $3.5 billion to build a lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Michigan, USA.

The US government also wants to stimulate the production of electric vehicles and batteries. Last year, the company launched the American Battery Materials initiative and will offer 20 companies a $2.8 billion incentive to start manufacturing batteries in the United States. The country is seeking to build an independent network and not rely on “unreliable foreign supply chains,” which likely has to do with China, according to President Joe Biden.

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Source: Engadget

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