GM Teams Up with LG for Production of EV Batteries

General Motors announced it is teaming up with Korean giant LG Chem to build batteries for its future electric vehicles in Ohio.

The two companies will take part in a joint venture that will see them investing $2.3 billion on a battery-cell assembly plant in Ohio. The facility will be located near GM’s former Lordstown plant, which was recently sold to a startup company and will be in charge of manufacturing batteries to supply GM’s future EV lineup.

At least 1,100 new jobs will be created with the inauguration of the Ohio plant and construction will reportedly begin sometime in mid-2020. LG Chem is known as one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers, supplying batteries to other prominent car brands such as Ford, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Tesla.

With GM and LG’s partnership, the companies will be able to collaborate on developing technology to produce less expensive batteries. According to the automaker, the new factory will have an annual capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours, putting it on top of Tesla’s Gigafactory with a yearly 20 gigawatt-hours of capacity as of 2018.

Earlier this year, GM said it is planning to release no less than 20 EVs in the market by the year 2023. Among the brands under GM, Chevrolet revealed it is working on a crossover EV, while Buick is looking to build an Enspire EV with an internal-combustion engine.

GM CEO Mary Barra also recently confirmed the company will launch an electric pickup in 2021. She also said the company is expecting to sell at least 1,000,000 electric vehicles each year in the near future. Moreover, GM’s push for more EVs in the succeeding years, as well as its focus on SUVs and crossovers, has prompted the company to transition from passenger vehicles, eventually causing the closure of its Lordstown facility where the Chevrolet Cruze was built.