Did Ultium Cells halt construction of its third battery factory?
BusinessKorea reports this, citing unnamed industry sources. One of the two shareholders, namely LG Energy Solutions, is from South Korea. According to the report, only the first two of the five planned production lines in Lansing, Michigan, have been installed. The schedule for the remaining lines has been put “on hold.”
The battery factory in Lansing near the GM vehicle plant was first mentioned in 2021 and was scheduled to officially start series production in the second half of 2025. However, the first two assembly lines were supposed to be up and running in the spring to optimise the systems and processes for volume production. That timetable could now be jeopardised if the systems and buildings are not completed until 2025 instead of this year as planned.
Ultium Cells already operates two cell factories, one in Ohio and the second in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The plant in Warren has been producing since 2022, while the first cells from Spring Hill were only delivered this April – to the GM plant around half a mile away.
However, plans for a fourth plant to be built in New Carlisle in the US state of Indiana were put on ice at the beginning of 2023. LGES also announced in April 2024 that it would cut back on investments, particularly in equipment. According to BusinessKorea, LGES also halted construction work on the LFP cell factory for stationary storage systems in Arizona. However, work on the battery cell factory in Arizona continues.
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