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Motors & LG Chem to build US Megafactory","general-motors-lg-chem-to-build-us-megafactory","article/general-motors-lg-chem-to-build-us-megafactory",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":560,"content":570,"excerpt":673,"featured":50,"reporter":674,"_editable":678,"component":679,"seo_title":553,"categories":680,"visibility":687,"author_company":49,"featured_image":688,"seo_description":673,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":693,"formattedArticleDate":694},"801d3d95-c572-489b-a5a7-86e18b280c10","2019-12-06 00:00",[],[561],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":564},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":565,"image":566,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":567},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":571,"content":572},"doc",[573,580,585,590,595,600,605,614,621,626,631,642,651,656,661],{"type":574,"attrs":575,"content":576},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[577],{"text":578,"type":579},"In December, the USA’s General Motors (GM) and South Korea’s LG Chem announced they would be forming a joint venture to create a US-based megafactory to produce battery cells destined for electric vehicles. The proposed battery factory will be based in Ohio and will reportedly have a capacity of 30 GWh with the potential to expand this further.","text",{"type":574,"attrs":581,"content":582},{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":579},"The companies will invest $2.3 billion in the joint venture which sees closer collaboration between the two, as GM already purchases LG Chem’s battery cells for use in its Chevy Bolt. The latest deal will bring GM and LG Chem into partnership, producing cells in the same facility.",{"type":574,"attrs":586,"content":587},{"textAlign":49},[588],{"text":589,"type":579},"“With this investment, Ohio and its highly capable workforce will play a key role in our journey toward a world with zero emissions,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “Combining our manufacturing expertise with LG Chem’s leading battery-cell technology will help accelerate our pursuit of an all-electric future. We look forward to collaborating with LG Chem on future cell technologies that will continue to improve the value we deliver to our customers.”",{"type":574,"attrs":591,"content":592},{"textAlign":49},[593],{"text":594,"type":579},"“Our joint venture with the No. 1 American automaker will further prepare us for the anticipated growth of the North American EV market, while giving us insights into the broader EV ecosystem,” said LG Chem Vice Chairman & CEO Hak-Cheol Shin. “Our long-standing history with General Motors has proven our collective expertise in this space, and we look forward to continuing this drive for zero emissions.”",{"type":574,"attrs":596,"content":597},{"textAlign":49},[598],{"text":599,"type":579},"The GM-LG Chem announcement comes on the back of an ongoing dispute between GM and the United Autoworkers Union (UAW). The dispute surrounded the closure of a vehicle production facility in Lordstown.",{"type":574,"attrs":601,"content":602},{"textAlign":49},[603],{"text":604,"type":579},"GM initially announced its plans for a major restructuring in November 2018 as it named five North American plants at risk of closure and stated it would cut nearly 15,000 jobs. GM have suggested that the Lordstown megafactory will add an extra 1,100 jobs to the local area, however, this is unlikely to make up for losses attributed to the pivot away from its traditional form of production.",{"type":574,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608,610,612],{"text":609,"type":579},"The new plant is targeting a capacity of 30 GWh but as a greenfield site has the option of expansion beyond this as demand dictates. ",{"text":611,"type":579},"Benchmark Minerals ",{"text":613,"type":579},"forecasts that the plant will be commissioned in 2023 and focus on high nickel NCM cathodes – producing both NCM 622 and 811 cells.",{"type":574,"attrs":615,"content":616},{"textAlign":49},[617,619],{"text":618,"type":579},"Benchmark ",{"text":620,"type":579},"understands that GM is already sourcing batteries from LG Chem’s Holland, Michigan, battery plant for use in the Chevy Bolt. The Holland, Michigan, megafactory has been producing batteries since 2013 and currently has a capacity just shy of 10 GWh.",{"type":574,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624],{"text":625,"type":579},"The decision to build the Lordstown megafactory sees GM and LG Chem follow the blueprint set out by Tesla and Panasonic in Gigafactory 1.",{"type":574,"attrs":627,"content":628},{"textAlign":49},[629],{"text":630,"type":579},"For OEMs without the knowledge to produce their own batteries in house, this has become the preferred production method. This trend has continued to develop throughout 2019 as Volkswagen partnered up with Northvolt and Toyota with Panasonic.",{"type":574,"attrs":632,"content":633},{"textAlign":49},[634,636,638,640],{"text":635,"type":579},"This latest announcement takes LG Chem’s global footprint to seven megafactories, enhancing their US production base. As at the end of 2019 LG Chem had 66 GWh of battery capacity, according to the ",{"text":637,"type":579},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory Assessment",{"text":639,"type":579},", across 5 different battery plants. As things currently stand, in 2029 LG Chem is expected to",{"text":641,"type":579},"have 265 GWh of capacity across seven plants located in China, Korea, Poland and the USA. This places LG Chem behind only CATL in terms of scale of lithium ion capacity out to 2029.",{"type":574,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645,647,649],{"text":646,"type":579},"GM’s announcement is important to the USA’s electric vehicle industry, which is lacking in battery megafactory capacity in the pipeline compared with Europe and particularly China, which has over 7 times more capacity in the pipeline than the USA for 2029. As things stood at the end of December 2019, the ",{"text":648,"type":579},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory Assessment ",{"text":650,"type":579},"showed the USA has 206 GWh in the pipeline for 2029, Europe has 367GWh and China has 1,526 GWh.",{"type":574,"attrs":652,"content":653},{"textAlign":49},[654],{"text":655,"type":579},"Whereas there have been a number of megafactories added to Europe and China in 2019, the USA has only added the GM-LG Chem megafactory and a Farasis megafactory, for which the final location is yet to be confirmed.",{"type":574,"attrs":657,"content":658},{"textAlign":49},[659],{"text":660,"type":579},"In a year which has seen increased governmental and industry focus on the weakness of the US critical mineral supply chain and an ongoing trade dispute with China, these developments are vital for the US to establish its own localised lithium ion supply.",{"type":574,"attrs":662,"content":663},{"textAlign":49},[664,666,667,669,671],{"text":665,"type":579},"But as we at ",{"text":618,"type":579},{"text":668,"type":579},"have repeatedly warned, there still needs to be further investment in the upstream portion of the supply chain. As things stand, the US has negligible key battery raw material production. Downstream, anode production is non-existent and the ",{"text":670,"type":579},"Benchmark Minerals Cathode Assessment ",{"text":672,"type":579},"estimates the US is responsible for less than 1% of global cathode production and capacity in 2019.","In December, the USA’s General Motors (GM) and South Korea’s LG Chem announced they would be forming a joint venture to create a US-based megafactory to produce battery cells destined for electric vehicles. The proposed battery factory will be based in Ohio and will reportedly have a capacity of 30 GWh with the potential to […]",[675],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":676},{"job_title":565,"image":677,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},{"filename":567},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"801d3d95-c572-489b-a5a7-86e18b280c10\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[681,684],{"slug":682,"name":683},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":685,"name":686},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":689,"name":689,"focus":689,"title":689,"source":689,"filename":690,"copyright":689,"fieldtype":691,"meta_data":692,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf90e75cfc/bm-chevy-bolt-2.jpg","asset",{"alt":689,"title":689,"source":689,"copyright":689},"Dec 06, 2019","6th December 2019",[],[],1792773942073]