Ultium Cells announced the completion of the steel structure for the lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plant at its Spring Hill, Tennessee site. The final beam was installed on June 8.
The joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution has reached the milestone in a 6-month period, after over 550,000 construction build hours, and is on track to start battery production in Q4 2023.
The upcoming plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee is the second Ultium Cells plant under construction in the US, and was announced in April 2021. The first one, in Warren, Ohio, is set to start production very soon - in August 2022.
According to the Ultium Cells' website, the annual output of the first plant will be over 35 GWh with room for expansion - we guess that the plant in Tennessee might have a similar output.
There is also the third Ultium Cells' plant under construction in Lansing, Michigan. That was announced in January 2022, and will start production in Q3 2024. In other words, one new battery plant every year. The third plant might be the largest of the three, as its annual production target is 50 GWh.
According to rumors, General Motors and LG Energy Solution might decide to build a total of four joint battery gigafactories with a combined total output significantly exceeding 100 GWh/year.
Ultium Cells LLC - Lordstown, Ohio plant in brief:
- General Motors and LG Energy Solution joint venture (50/50)
- manufacturing of lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles
- $2.3 billion investment and more than 1,200 new jobs
- 2.8-million-square-foot plant located in Lordstown, Ohio
- target manufacturing capacity of 35+ GWh annually (with an option for further expansion)
- cell type: large-format, pouch-style cells
- Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum (NCMA) chemistry "reducing cobalt content by more than 70 percent"
- groundbreaking in May 2020 (the plant as of December 2021)
- production start (plan) from August 2022
Ultium Cells LLC - Spring Hill, Tennessee plant in brief:
- General Motors and LG Energy Solution joint venture (50/50)
- manufacturing of lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles
- $2.3 billion investment and 1,300 new jobs
- 2.8-million-square-foot plant located in Spring Hill, Tennessee
- target manufacturing capacity: undisclosed (probably similar as in the first plant: 35+ GWh)
- cell type: large-format, pouch-style cells
- construction start in April, 2021
- production start (plan) from late 2023
Ultium Cells LLC - Lansing, Michigan plant in brief:
- General Motors and LG Energy Solution joint venture (50/50)
- manufacturing of lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles
"will supply battery cells to various GM facilities including Factory Zero, Orion Assembly, and other unannounced plants" - $2.6 billion investment and 1,700 new jobs
- 2.8-million-square-foot plant located in Lansing, Michigan
- target manufacturing capacity: 50 GWh (when running full production)
- cell type: large-format, pouch-style cells
- announced in January 2022
- construction start in Summer 2022
- production start (plan) from Q3 2024 (previously: early 2025)
