Battery Giant LG Chem To Invest $4.5 Billion In U.S. Expansion

LG Chem is prepared to invest $4.5 billion over the next five years to expand battery capacity in the United States.

In a Thursday email, according to Bloomberg Green, LG Chem said it would not only sink $4.5 billion into battery capacity expansion, but it would hire 10,000 workers.

The company hatched the plan over the last year in response to what it says as the growing demand for electric vehicles and President Biden’s ambitious green policies.

Several automakers are planning to electrify their fleet of vehicles. Ford and GM have vowed to go all electric—at least in Europe—by 2030. Jaguar, too, has plans to become an all electric car manufacturer by 2025.

Companies heavily invested in EVs and EV tech have been emboldened in the United State’s by President Biden’s support for the electric vehicle industry—and all signs point to this trend continuing, but has been temporarily slows by a semiconductor shortage that has automakers scrambling to get their hands on what is currently available in the market.

“The goals of the U.S. president and automakers will be a propelling factor in the growth of the country’s electric vehicle and energy storage systems markets,” Jong Hyun Kim, chief executive officer of LG Energy Solution, said in the statement to Bloomberg.

GM and LG are looking to spend $2.3 billion over the next three years to form a joint venture, Ultium Cells LLC, that will produce battery cells in Lordstown, Ohio, for electric vehicles.

Now, GM and LG are hoping to build a similar plant elsewhere in the United States—and has looked at Spring Hill, Tennessee, as a possible site. The JV hopes to make a decision on the second plant in the first half of this year.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• Why U.S. Shale Production Remains Stubbornly High
• Iran Pushes Development Of Major Oil Region Under 25-Year China Deal
• Biden Is Playing A Dangerous Game In The Middle East