Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution to establish 50:50 $4.3B battery cell manufacturing JV in US

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) announced an EV battery cell manufacturing joint venture in the US. Hyundai Motor Group and LGES signed a memorandum of understanding to produce EV batteries in the US. Hyundai and LGES will each hold a 50% stake in the JV, which will involve an investment of more than US$4.3 billion (KRW 5.7 trillion).

The annual production capacity of the new joint venture is at 30 GWh, able to support the production of 300,000 units of EVs annually. The facility will be in Bryan County, Savannah, Georgia, adjacent to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, currently under construction.

Starting construction in the second half of 2023, the joint venture plans to start battery production at the end of 2025 at the earliest.

Hyundai Mobis will assemble battery packs using cells from the plant, then supply them to the Hyundai Group's US manufacturing facilities for production of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models. The new facility will help create a stable supply of batteries in the region and allow the Group to respond quickly to the soaring EV demand in the US market.

With this JV, LGES now has seven battery plants currently operating or being constructed in the US, where the company is concentrating most of its resources to expand the production capacity. By ramping up its local production, LGES aims to provide innovative products both in scale and with speed, thereby expediting the clean energy transition in the US.

The Hyundai Group and LGES have long been partners in the field of electrification having worked on the supplies of EV batteries for vehicles, including Elantra Hybrid, Kona Electric, and IONIQ 6 dedicated EV. The Hyundai Elantra Hybrid, LPi hybrid vehicle introduced in 2009, was the Group's first electrified model. In 2021, both started construction of the Indonesia battery cell JV which is set to start production in the first half of 2024.

Posted on 26 May 2023 in Batteries, Electric (Battery), Manufacturing, Market Background | Permalink | Comments (0)