General Motors is expanding its battery-building base. Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture company owned by GM and LG Energy Solution, announced April 16 that it will construct a second plant for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries. GM says the new, 2.8-million-square-foot plant will cost $2.3 billion and create 1,300 new manufacturing jobs.
The new factory will be located in Spring Hill, Tennessee, where it will supply General Motors’ nearby Spring Hill assembly plant, which GM said last October would transition to produce electric-only vehicles like the latest Cadillac models.
At an announcement event, GM CEO Mary Barra said the new plant was the latest step in GM’s transformation into a company focused entirely on electric vehicles.
“The addition of our second all-new Ultium battery cell plant in the U.S. with our joint venture partner LG Energy Solution is another major step in our transition to an all-electric future,” she said.
LG Energy Solution CEO Jonghyun Kim said the new factory will improve U.S.-based supply chains. “I truly believe this coming together transcends a partnership, as it marks a defining moment that will reduce emissions and help to accelerate the adoption of EVs,” he said.
Both Barra and Kim gave kudos to the state of Tennessee for supporting the project. Governor Bill Lee said the factory is “the largest single investment of economic activity in the state’s history” and called it “a testament to our position as a leader in automotive manufacturing.”
A brief statement from the UAW said union members would “continue to work with General Motors on the transition to electric vehicles,” but asserted the auto company’s “moral obligation” to ensure jobs making electric vehicles are “good paying union jobs,” like those involved in making combustion-powered vehicles.
GM and LG first announced the battery joint venture Ultium in 2019, when it announced the construction of a $2.3 billion battery R&D center and factory in Lordstown, Ohio. That location is slated to become operational sometime in 2022.
