GM and LG venture to boost electric vehicle battery output to 50GWh

Ultium Cells, the EV battery joint venture between LG and GM, is committing an additional $US275 million to increase battery cell production at its Spring Hill plant by 40 per cent to 50 gigawatt hours a year.

Battery cell production at Spring Hill is expected to get underway in late 2023, but with the new investment, an additional 400 jobs will be created, bringing total employment to 1,700.

The Spring Hill facility in Tennessee will supply battery cells to GM’s nearby assembly plant, which is producing the Cadillac Lyriq and other GM Ultium Platform-based EVs. Battery cell production at Spring Hill is expected to get underway in late 2023, and the new investment will lift total employment by an additional 400 jobs to a total of 1,700.

“This investment will allow us to provide our customer GM more battery cells faster and support GM’s aggressive EV launch plan in the coming years,” said Tom Gallagher, vice president of operations at Ultium Cells.

“Ultium Cells is taking the appropriate steps to support GM’s plan for more than 1 million units of EV capacity in North America by mid-decade.”

The Spring Hill site is not the only Ultium facility under construction and joins battery cell manufacturing sites in Ohio and Michigan.

Ultium’s facility in Warren, Ohio began battery cell production in August and is continuing to accelerate production volume. Meanwhile, the company’s Lansing Delta Township facility in Michigan is under construction and is expected to begin production in late 2024.

When all three facilities are operational, Ultium Cells expects to have more than 130GWh of battery cell production capacity, though this is not expected to be reached until “later this decade”.

“Ultium Cells will play a critical role in making GM’s commitment to an all-electric future a reality,” said Tim Herrick, GM’s vice president of EV Launch Excellence.

“By expanding battery cell output at Ultium Cells Spring Hill, this investment will help GM offer customers the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership.”