LG New Energy plans to invest 7.2 trillion won to build a new battery plant in Arizona
March 27 news, according to foreign media reports, South Korean battery manufacturer LG new energy plans to invest 7.2 trillion won in Arizona to build a new battery factory.
As early as March last year, LG New Energy announced that it would invest 1.7 trillion won ($1.4 billion) to build a battery factory in Arizona to supply car batteries for companies such as Tesla.
The new plant was originally scheduled to start construction in the second quarter of 2022, with a target of 2024, with a planned annual capacity of 11GWh. Later, in June 2022, construction plans for the plant were put on hold. However, the company then restarted the program.
In January, LG New Energy said it would press ahead with plans to build a plant in Arizona, where it is in talks with Tesla and other manufacturers to supply batteries.
On Friday, LG New Energy CEO Kwon Young-soo revealed that the company will make a decision soon about building a factory in Arizona, possibly before the end of the first half of the year.
Foreign media said that the factory will start construction this year and be completed in 2025. LG New Energy said that once completed, the plant will have an annual capacity of 43GWh, which will make it the largest single battery production plant in North America.
LG New Energy, a new company spun off from LG Chem in December 2020, specializes in batteries and its customers include Tesla, General Motors and Volkswagen. After the spin-off, LG Chemical will hold a 100% stake in the new company.
LG New Energy, which raised more than $10 billion in an IPO in January, is preparing to build a joint venture with General Motors in the United States and plans to build a joint venture with Stellantis in Canada.
