Joint plant with Stellantis and Canada
Building a plant with capacity of 45GWh, and operating in June 2024
Sign of Initial public offering fund investment
Working towards building an independent ‘cyl
LG Energy Solution will invest KRW 6.5 trillion in building battery plants for electric vehicles in North America. It was reported on the 24th that LG Energy Solutionwill build a ‘joint electric vehicle battery plant with Stellantis' and an ‘independent cylindrical battery plant' in North America. There are 14 brands affiliated with Stellantis, which include Chrysler, Jeep, Maserati and Citroën.It ranked 4th largest auto manufacturer in the world with 380,000 units sold in 2021, and ranked second in sales after General Motors (GM).
The joint plant will be built in Windsor, Ontariowith a capacity of 45 GWh, and a total of KRW 4.8 trillion will be invested. The production capacity was increased by 5GWh compared to what it was planned previously. LG Energy Solution will begin the construction in the second half of this year, and the plant will operate by June 2024.The batteries produced in the joint plant will be applied to Stellantis brand next-generation electric vehicles, such as Chrysler and Jeep.Vice Chairman of LG Energy Solution, Youngsoo Kwon, said, “We will supply Stellantis, our main customer, with the most competitive products in all aspects: quality, performance, and cost.”
CEO of Stellantis,Carlos Tavares, emphasized and said, “The goal of the joint plant is to reach 50% of electric vehicle sales in North America by 2030.”
This is the first time LG Energy Solutioninvested in public offering funds prepared after its IPO. Starting with Stellantis, LG Energy Solution will continue to invest in Europe, the United States, and China, similar to GM and Hyundai Motors joint ventures.It will have global production bases in four locations: Korea (22GWh), China (110GWh), Poland (100GWh), and Indonesia (10GWh). It is aiming to secure a battery production capacity of 242GWh by 2025, andsupply to the world's top 5 auto manufacturers such as Tesla, Volkswagen, GM, Stellantis, and Hyundai Motors.
Apart from the Canadian joint venture, LG Energy Solution will also set up its own independent cylindrical plant in Arizona, USA. This is the first time for Korean company to build a cylindrical battery plant in North America.The investment is KRW 1.7 trillion, and its production capacity is 11 GWh. It will mainly supply to electric vehicle startups in the United States. LG Energy Solution will increase its production capacity.Major customers from the United States are Rivian, Lucid, and Proterra.Cylindrical batteries are more profitable products than pouch-type and prismatic batteries.
According to a global market research company,IHS, the North American EV battery market will reach143 GWh in 2023 and 286 GWh in 2025, which started with 46 GWh in 2021.
By Staff Reporter Jiwoong Kim (jw0316@etnews.com)