LG Energy Solution to expand Michigan plant
LG Energy Solution is planning to expand its own battery factory in Holland in the US state of Michigan. With investments amounting to 1.7 billion US dollars, the production capacity for battery cells and battery packs is to be increased fivefold there.
The expansion, for which the equivalent of 1.55 billion euros is to be invested, will create 1,200 new jobs. At least, that is what emerges from an announcement by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
The exact production capacity is not mentioned in the announcement, nor does the plant have any corresponding information on its homepage. However, the portal InsideEVs claims to have learned that it currently produces 5 GWh per year – these are pouch cells for electric cars and stationary energy storage. So in the future it would be 25 GWh. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation does not specify by when the expansion is to be completed.
But it does list some measures from the funding package. For the creation of the 1,200 jobs, there is a “performance-based grant” of ten million US dollars from the Michigan Business Development Program. To “support job-related training” there is another ten million dollars from another grant programme. Tax breaks have also been agreed, which will add up to an estimated $132.6 million over 20 years.
The company has been present in Holland since 2010, when it built its first battery plant for electric vehicles in the USA, and now employs 1,495 people in Michigan. So in the future, it will have around 2,700 employees.
“LG Energy Solution’s $1.7 billion investment in Michigan will create 1,200 good jobs in West Michigan and enable us to continue to lead in building and deploying next generation transportation solutions,” says Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. She also points to GM’s billion-dollar investment announced two months ago to partner with LGES in Lansing to build the third US battery plant for the Ultium Cells joint venture.
“Michigan was a natural choice to our commitment of building an impactful global business because of its rich pool of talent, being close to the geographic epicenter of the automotive industry and its strong support,” said Bonchul Koo, president of LG Energy Solution Michigan. “I am optimistic about realizing LG Energy Solution’s aim to achieve carbon-neutral by 2050 and about creating ripple effects of environment-conscious business in Michigan and beyond. I look forward to what the future holds.”
LGES is planning a much larger facility than Michigan with Stellantis in Ontario, Canada, where it plans to build a cell factory by 2024 that will later be expanded to produce up to 45 GWh.
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