General Motors and LG Chem Team Up to Advance Toward an All-Electric Future, Add Jobs in Ohio

News provided by

Dec 05, 2019, 09:00 ET

DETROIT, Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

Will create more than 1,100 new jobs in a new, Ohio-based facility
Joint venture to drive cost per kilowatt hours to industry-leading levels
New battery plant to have an annual capacity of more than 30 gigawatt hours with flexibility for expansion
Companies enter joint agreement to develop advanced tech, lower cost batteries

General Motors (NYSE: GM) and LG Chem today announced plans to mass-produce battery cells for future battery-electric vehicles. Together, the companies will invest up to a total of $2.3 billion through a new, equally owned joint venture company.

The JV will establish a battery cell assembly plant on a greenfield manufacturing site in the Lordstown area of Northeast Ohio that will create more than 1,100 new jobs.

The state-of-the art plant will use the most advanced manufacturing processes all under one roof to produce cells efficiently, with little waste, and will benefit from strong economies of scale throughout the value chain. The plant will be extremely flexible and able to adapt to ongoing advances in technology and materials.

The collaboration also includes a joint development agreement that brings together two leaders in battery science to develop and produce advanced battery technologies, with the goal of reducing battery costs to industry-leading levels.

This announcement, along with the recent sale of GM's manufacturing complex in Lordstown, Ohio to Lordstown Motors Corp. for the production of battery-electric trucks, positions Northeast Ohio and the Mahoning Valley as a major hub for technology and electric vehicle manufacturing.

"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."

In addition to vertically integrating the manufacturing of battery cells in the U.S., LG Chem will gain access to an experienced workforce. It will also benefit from a dedicated production stream of future EVs from GM's next generation of battery-electric vehicles, including an all-new battery-electric truck coming in the fall of 2021.

"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."

This investment builds on GM's $28 million investment in its Warren, Michigan battery lab announced late last year. It is also in addition to manufacturing investments in Ohio announced earlier this year totaling approximately $700 million that will create about 450 jobs in Toledo, Parma and Brookville, Ohio.

Groundbreaking is expected to take place in mid-2020.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is committed to delivering safer, better and more sustainable ways for people to get around. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Cadillac, Chevrolet, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, Maven, its personal mobility brand, and Cruise, its autonomous vehicle company, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

LG Chem is Korea's largest diversified chemical company which operates four main business portfolios: Petrochemicals, Energy Solutions, Advanced Materials and Life Sciences. The chemical business manufactures a wide range of petrochemical products from high-value added to commodity goods. LG Chem also extends its chemical expertise into high-tech areas such as lithium-ion batteries, industrial & automotive materials, drugs & vaccines to deliver broad range of differentiated solutions for our customers. Throughout multiple production facilities and extensive distribution network worldwide, LG Chem employs approximately 35,000 people and generated sales of KRW 28.2 trillion in 2018. For more information, please visit www.lgchem.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements. This press release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements including words such as "anticipate," "appears," "approximately," "believe," "continue," "could," "designed," "effect," "estimate," "evaluate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "initiative," "intend," "may," "objective," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "priorities," "project," "pursue," "seek," "should," "target," "when," "will," "would," or the negative of any of those words or similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements represent our current judgment about possible future events. In making these statements we rely upon assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. These statements are not guarantees of future performance; they involve risks and uncertainties and actual events or results may differ materially from these statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, a variety of economic, competitive and regulatory factors, many of which are beyond our control and are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, as well as additional factors we may describe from time to time in other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or other factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where we are expressly required to do so by law.

SOURCE General Motors