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setbacks ","us-gigafactory-rollout-hit-by-setbacks","article/us-gigafactory-rollout-hit-by-setbacks",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":718,"featured":51,"reporter":719,"_editable":723,"component":724,"seo_title":543,"categories":725,"visibility":735,"author_company":49,"featured_image":736,"seo_description":718,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":741,"formattedArticleDate":742},"8e7e56f2-507e-4dae-9fa7-6324bd88c39b","2023-09-26 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"usa","USA",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":560},"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":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,583,588,593,598,611,616,621,633,638,643,648,655,660,665,670,675,680,685,690,695,700,705],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570,573,581],{"text":571,"type":572},"The construction of US battery gigafactories is being hit by setbacks, as Ford announced it would pause development of a 35 gigawatt hour $3.5 billion ","text",{"text":574,"type":572,"marks":575},"plant in Michigan",[576],{"type":577,"attrs":578},"link",{"href":579,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-to-build-3-5-billion-us-lfp-battery-plant-using-catl-technology","url",{"text":582,"type":572}," to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. ",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":572},"The automaker said it is “pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall project until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant,” without giving details of the delay. ",{"type":567,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":572},"The announcement came during the second week of a national strike by unionised auto workers at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis in the US, who are calling for higher pay as well as other benefits. ",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":572},"It follows reports of delays and cost increases for US gigafactories, following billions of dollars of announced investment over the past year, acclerated in part by the Inflation Reduction Act.",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601,603,609],{"text":602,"type":572},"The US battery cell capacity pipeline to 2030 has increased by 74.8% since July, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":604,"type":572,"marks":605},"Gigafactory Assessment",[606],{"type":577,"attrs":607},{"href":608,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/gigafactory-assessment/capacities/",{"text":610,"type":572},". ",{"type":567,"attrs":612,"content":613},{"textAlign":49},[614],{"text":615,"type":572},"Yet constructing those gigafactories could take longer and cost more than planned, due to the limited experience of construction companies, according to Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":567,"attrs":617,"content":618},{"textAlign":49},[619],{"text":620,"type":572},"“There aren’t a wealth of construction companies in the US that have ever built a factory like this,” he said.  ",{"type":567,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624,626,631],{"text":625,"type":572},"US battery production capacity is set to almost double by 2025, according to announced plans, to hit almost 500 GWh a year, according to ",{"text":627,"type":572,"marks":628},"Benchmark",[629],{"type":577,"attrs":630},{"href":608,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},{"text":632,"type":572},". By 2030 that’s set to double again to 1,233.6 GWh. ",{"type":567,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636],{"text":637,"type":572},"But automakers are already struggling to increase production of electric vehicles, due to a slower-than-expected ramp up of battery production. ",{"type":567,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"textAlign":49},[641],{"text":642,"type":572},"General Motors said in July that the ramp up of production of its Ultium batteries was experiencing “unexpected delays,” due to delivery issues with an equipment supplier. ",{"type":567,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646],{"text":647,"type":572},"Ford also said this summer that it would produce 600,000 EVs in 2024, rather than by the end of 2023, as it had previously forecast. ",{"type":649,"attrs":650,"content":652},"heading",{"level":651,"textAlign":49},4,[653],{"text":654,"type":572},"Cell production challenges",{"type":567,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":572},"Many battery companies establishing cell production in the region are experiencing challenges with ramping up capacity, such as South Korea’s LG Energy Solution in Warren, Ohio, and in Savannah, Georgia.",{"type":567,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":572},"LGES and Hyundai said this month that their 30 GWh cell plant in Savannah will actually cost $7.6 billion rather than the $4.3bn announced in May.",{"type":567,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":572},"The company’s plant with General Motors in Warren, Ohio, has also seen chemical spills that have led to investigations. ",{"type":567,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":572},"American Battery Factory has also postponed construction of its $1.2 billion lithium phosphate (LFP) battery factory in Tucson, Arizona, until November, according to reports. ",{"type":567,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":572},"The planned production capacity of US LFP battery cells has increased by 260% this year, to 176.8 GWh of annual production capacity by 2030, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":649,"attrs":681,"content":682},{"level":651,"textAlign":49},[683],{"text":684,"type":572},"UAW strikes",{"type":567,"attrs":686,"content":687},{"textAlign":49},[688],{"text":689,"type":572},"Around 18,300 workers of the United Auto Workers (UAW) are on strike at plants owned by General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford. ",{"type":567,"attrs":691,"content":692},{"textAlign":49},[693],{"text":694,"type":572},"The UAW had originally proposed a 40% pay increase over four years for workers, but has now settled on a 30% increase. Ford has said the union’s demands would make it impossible to invest in EVs. ",{"type":567,"attrs":696,"content":697},{"textAlign":49},[698],{"text":699,"type":572},"In August, the UAW union reached a deal to increase wages by 25% at General Motors’ Ultium Cells battery joint venture. ",{"type":567,"attrs":701,"content":702},{"textAlign":49},[703],{"text":704,"type":572},"Taking a 25% increase in labour wages and greater capital investment could lead to a $5/kWh higher battery cell price in the US, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":567,"attrs":706,"content":707},{"textAlign":49},[708,710,716],{"text":709,"type":572},"It comes as battery cell prices have declined globally, falling below $100 a kWh for the first time in two years ",{"text":711,"type":572,"marks":712},"last month",[713],{"type":577,"attrs":714},{"href":715,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-cell-prices-fall-below-100-kwh-for-first-time-in-two-years",{"text":717,"type":572},".","The construction of US battery gigafactories is being hit by setbacks, as Ford announced it would pause development of a 35 gigawatt hour $3.5 billion plant in Michigan to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. The automaker said it is “pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall project until we’re confident […]",[720],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":721},{"job_title":558,"image":722,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8e7e56f2-507e-4dae-9fa7-6324bd88c39b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[726,729,732],{"slug":727,"name":728},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":730,"name":731},"ev","EV",{"slug":733,"name":734},"geopolitics","Geopolitics","private",{"id":49,"alt":737,"name":737,"focus":737,"title":737,"source":737,"filename":738,"copyright":737,"fieldtype":739,"meta_data":740,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/30f994141c/bm-blue-oval-city-02.jpg","asset",{"alt":737,"title":737,"source":737,"copyright":737},"Sep 26, 2023","26th September 2023",[],[],1782380550000]