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The No.1 US automaker, General Motors and South Korea’s LG Chem will invest up to $2.3 billion by 2023 to form a joint venture for the production of batteries for electric vehicles.
The two companies plan to build a factory for the manufacturing of battery cells in the Lordstown-area of northeast Ohio.
Construction of the factory, which is expected to be among the largest in the world, is scheduled to begin in mid-2020.
The partnership will be a 50-50 undertaking and is anticipated, according to GM, to create 1,100 new jobs for the area.
“With this investment, Ohio and its highly capable workforce will play a key role in our journey toward a world with zero emissions,” Barra said. “Combining our manufacturing expertise with LG Chem’s leading battery-cell technology will help accelerate our pursuit of an all-electric future. We look forward to collaborating with LG Chem on future cell technologies that will continue to improve the value we deliver to our customers.”
LG Chem and GM have been working together since 2009. The relationship deepened as GM developed and then launched the Chevy Bolt EV.
LG Chem has supplied GM with lithium-ion cells from its plant in Holland, Michigan.
“The joint venture signing today is more than just a collaboration, it’s the beginning of a great journey,” LG Chem CEO and Vice Chairman Hak-Cheol Shin said during a Thursday morning call with reporters.
This new plant is aimed at GM’s next generation of electric vehicles.
GM isn’t wasting any time getting started on that all-electric future. The company noted that a wave of electric vehicles will use the new plant’s batteries, commencing in 2021.
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