LG Energy Solution, a South Korean provider of energy solutions, has announced plans to invest $5.5 billion in the construction of a new battery manufacturing plant in the US. The manufacturing facility, which will be built in Queen Creek, Arizona, will be the largest investment ever done in a standalone battery manufacturing facility in North America. It will have two facilities: one for producing cylindrical batteries for electric vehicles and the other to manufacture pouch-type lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems (ESS).
A $2.3 billion investment will be made to construct the 16GWh LFP pouch-type battery the manufacturing facility. It will be one of the first battery production facilities in the world to be exclusively focused on ESS, with production set to start in 2026. The cylindrical battery manufacturing facility will have a capacity of 27 GWh and a $3.2 billion investment. It will be the first such facility in the US with a Korean battery manufacturer as its sole investor, and operations are anticipated to begin in 2025. Reportedly, both sites are expected to begin building later in 2023.
In August 2022, LG Energy Solution and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced a joint venture (JV) company to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in the US to power Honda and Acura EV models for the North American market. LGES and Honda would invest a combined $4.4 billion in this agreement to build a new JV plant in the US. The project intends to have a production capacity of about 40 GWh per year.
