A new report indicates that Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, might soon announce the location for its fourth battery gigafactory.
According to Reuters, GM and LG Energy Solution are considering a site in New Carlisle, Indiana. The joint venture had submitted a tax abatement application, which is expected to be approved this month.
"Ultium Cells LLC "is developing a competitive business case for a potential large investment that could be located in New Carlisle, Indiana," a spokeswoman said, adding that Ultium had submitted a tax abatement application that it hopes will be approved later this month."
The fourth Ultium Cells' factory most likely will be another large investment (potentially over $2 billion, like the previous three plants), bringing a four-digit number of new jobs to the state.
Details remain unknown, but we can assume that the manufacturing capacity might be at least 35-50 GWh, with the potential for more.
Meanwhile, the first Ultium Cells factory - in Lordstown, Ohio - is expected to start production this month and is actively looking for more workers.
The plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee is under construction (the main steel structure has been completed in June), while the site in Lansing, Michigan, announced in January, is just starting construction.
With all plants online, General Motors should easily exceed 100 GWh of annual lithium-ion battery cell production, which will be crucial for the ramp-up of the Ultium-based electric vehicles.
GM's efforts to build battery plants might be supported by a loan, granted by the federal government. In July, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that intends to offer a $2.5 billion loan o Ultium Cells to help finance the construction of battery cell manufacturing plants in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan (see official details here).
Overall, GM is gradually progressing on the electrification path. The company has a six-digit number of reservations for its all-new electric models (including 150,000 Chevrolet Silverado EV and 80,000 GMC Hummer EVs) and a growing number of new models launched or in the pipeline (like Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV and Chevrolet Equinox EV to name just a few).
