LG Energy Solution and L-H Battery Company, Inc (L-H Battery), a battery production joint venture of Japanese automaker Honda Motor, held a groundbreaking ceremony for their U.S. battery joint venture.
LG Energy Solution announced on February 28 (local time) that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for its battery joint venture with Honda near Jeffersonville in Fayette County, Ohio.
The ceremony was attended by LG Energy Solution President Dong-Myung Kim, Honda Motor Company President Toshihiro Mibe, and key executives including Hyuk-Jae Lee, CEO of the joint venture, Hyuk-Jae Lee, Vice President and General Manager of LG Energy Solution North America, and Rick Riggle, Chief Operating Officer. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted and other state officials were also in attendance.
The new plant will be approximately 186,000 square meters and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, with full production by the end of 2025. With a total investment of $4.4 billion and an annual production capacity of 40 GWh, it is expected to create 2,200 jobs. The batteries produced at the new plant will be exclusively supplied to Honda plants in North America.
"We are honored to represent two companies with a long and proud history of success," said Hyuk-Jae Lee, CEO of LG Energy Solution. "LG Energy Solution is the world's leading battery company with proven global mass production and quality competitiveness, along with differentiated investment capabilities, and Honda is a leader in the global automotive industry, and we believe that by leveraging our strengths, we can create the most successful battery plant in the world."
Rick Riggle, COO of the joint venture, said, "The partnership between Honda, LG Energy Solution, and the Ohio community will make this plant a success."
The joint venture has drawn much attention as the first strategic collaboration between a South Korean battery maker and a Japanese automaker. LG Energy Solution and Honda agreed in August last year to build a joint battery plant in the U.S. after agreeing that expanding electric vehicle production and timely supply of batteries were key to penetrating the North American market.
Based on close cooperation, the final announcement of the factory site was made in October last year, the corporate merger was filed in November, and the incorporation was completed in January this year.
"This is the first and largest project with Honda in the history of the LG Group, and it holds special significance for both companies as we will be producing batteries for Honda's first-generation electric vehicle platform," said Dong-myung Kim, President of LG Energy Solution's Automotive Battery Division. "Through this joint venture, we will achieve a clean energy future and provide leading customer value with excellent quality."
Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution is actively expanding its global production capacity, raising the capacity of its global production plants in North America, Europe, and Asia to 300 GWh this year and focusing on four key tasks, including differentiating product competitiveness, implementing smart factories, building an SCM system, and preparing for the future, to provide differentiated customer value.
To this end, we aim to increase facility investment by more than 50% compared to last year and increase annual sales by 25-30%.
