SAN FRANCISCO/SEOUL — LG Power Answer (LGES), a provider for electric car makers Tesla and Lucid, stated this week it plans to take a position 1.7 trillion Korean gained ($1.four billion) to construct a battery manufacturing facility in Arizona by 2024 to fulfill demand from “distinguished startups” and different North American prospects.
This might be its first U.S. manufacturing facility to make cylindrical cells, a sort of battery that has been utilized in Tesla and Lucid automobiles, LGES stated. Development will start within the second quarter of 2022, with mass manufacturing to start out in 2024 with manufacturing capability of 11 gigawatt hours, LGES stated in an announcement.
Earlier, Reuters reported that potential prospects would come with EV makers Tesla, Lucid and Proterra and Philip Morris, maker of IQOS heated-tobacco sticks, amongst others. The report cited folks aware of the matter.
LGES stated in an announcement that it plans to contemplate securing extra manufacturing capability at its Arizona manufacturing facility sooner or later.
“The Arizona manufacturing facility may add additional manufacturing capability sooner or later as we’re seeing rising demand for cylindrical batteries from numerous prospects, together with automakers and energy device makers,” stated an official at LGES.
On Tuesday, Tesla Chief Govt Officer Elon Musk stated battery manufacturing could be “the limiting issue” for car manufacturing in two to a few years. He has known as on suppliers to boost manufacturing, whereas Tesla begins making cells itself.
Tesla, Lucid and Proterra didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. Philip Morris declined to remark.
Japan’s Panasonic Corp, a Tesla provider, together with Up to date Amperex Expertise Co Ltd are additionally seeking to make investments billions of {dollars} to construct a manufacturing facility to make a brand new sort of electric vehicle (EV) battery for Tesla, public broadcaster NHK reported this month.
Panasonic is taking a look at constructing the manufacturing facility in both Oklahoma or Kansas, not removed from Tesla’s new Texas car plant, NHK reported.
Lucid Chief Monetary Officer Sherry Home instructed Reuters final month the corporate, which has a automotive manufacturing facility in Arizona, had signed multi-year provide agreements with two battery suppliers, and the settlement “does have some capability coming from state-side cell strains.”
She didn’t establish the businesses. Lucid sources batteries from LGES and Samsung SDI.
LGES, which raised greater than $10 billion in its preliminary public providing in Korea in January, has introduced a flurry of battery joint ventures with GM and Stellantis in the US and Canada.
In August, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an govt order aimed toward making half of all new vehicles offered in 2030 electrical.