Hyundai takes next step in U.S. EV strategy with new Ga. battery plant

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy's planned $4.3 billion battery plant will have an annual production capacity of 30 GWh to supply batteries for 300,000 EVs annually.

May 26, 2023 03:44 PM

HYUNDAI

Jaehoon Chang, left, CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. was joined by Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution on Friday.

Hyundai Motor Group took another step to complete the puzzle for its new $5.5 billion electric vehicle production hub in southeast Georgia with the announcement Friday of a deal to source battery cells through a $4.3 billion joint venture with supplier LG Energy Solution.

The companies will each hold a 50 percent stake in a new battery plant, to be constructed in Bryan County with enough annual capacity to produce 30 gigawatt hours of batteries, which can power 300,000 EVs annually.

It will be the second new U.S. battery plant to serve Hyundai.

Battery plants in the works

Automakers and their battery partners are preparing to ramp up production over the next few years. Here are their plans.

(15 Results)

General Motors

1 more Ultium plant is planned for the U.S. Location and timing to be announced.

General Motors

The Ultium Cells joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solutions is expected to begin producing batteries next year in Spring Hill, Tenn.

General Motors

GM and LG will invest up to $2.5 billion to build a battery plant near Lansing, Mich., near 2 existing assembly plants, in late 2024.

Ford Motor Co.

Blue Oval City will make batteries, along with electric F-Series pickups, northeast of Memphis, Tenn.

Ford Motor Co.

Blue Oval SK Battery Park, a joint venture with SK Innovation, is expected to open in 2025. It will comprise 2 battery plants in central Kentucky for Ford and Lincoln nameplates. 1 will open in 2025 and the other in 2026.

SK Innovation

Battery production launched this year at Plant 1, which will supply the VW ID4 and Ford F150 Lightning. Plant 2 will build batteries for the F-150 Lightning. It’s expected to open in 2023.

Volkswagen

VW’s Chattanooga complex has been expanded to begin battery-pack assembly for the ID4; pilot builds are being done. The complex will eventually supply other VW models.

Toyota

Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina, is expected to open by 2025. It will be near the town of Liberty and is eventually expected to run 6 assembly lines, enough to power up to 1.2 million vehicles annually.

Stellantis

Stellantis and partner LG Energy Solution will build Canada’s first large-scale EV battery plant in Windsor, Ontario. The plant is expected to begin operations in 2024 and will have capacity to produce 45 gigawatt hours of lithium ion battery cells and modules.

Stellantis

Stellantis and Samsung SDI will jointly produce EV batteries in Kokomo, Ind. The plant is expected to open in 2025. It will have an initial capacity of 23 GWh, with an aim to increase to 33 GWh within a few years.

Panasonic

Panasonic broke ground in November on a $4 billion battery plant in De Soto, Kan., to supply Tesla and other customers.

Envision AESC

The Japanese supplier is investing $2 billion in Bowling Green, Ky., initially to supply Mercedes-Benz in Alabama but to include other automakersin the future.

Envision AESC

In December, the company announced an $810 million plant in Florence, S.C., to produce BMW’s newest generation of batteries.

Honda, LG Energy

Announced a joint venture in October to invest $3.5 billion on battery production near Columbus, Ohio.

Hyundai, LG Energy

The plant, to be built adjacent to Hyundai's new EV factory under construction near Savannah, Ga., will have an annual capacity of 30 GWh, enough to power 300,000 electric vehicles.

The LG deal follows a similar supply agreement that Hyundai inked with South Korean battery supplier SK On Co. for a $5 billion battery plant in Bartow County, Ga. That plant will have an annual production capacity of 35 GWh and is expected to mainly supply Hyundai Motor Group auto plants in West Point, Ga., and Montgomery, Ala. Construction of the LG joint venture plant will begin this year, with production scheduled for as early as the end of 2025.

Diversifying suppliers for a key component, such as vehicle batteries, is about creating redundancy and obtaining batteries with different form factors and chemistries.

"Having choices means OEMs can design and market EVs with differing performance levels, range and price," said Conrad Layson, senior analyst at AutoForecast Solutions. "Most importantly, diversifying the battery supplier base relieves the OEMs from being dependent on issues at any one battery supplier."

The new Hyundai assembly plant, located outside Savannah, Ga., will build six electric models and open by early 2025. The 2,800-acre project will have an initial production capacity of 300,000 EVs annually. However, that total could rise to 500,000, based on demand.

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which incentivized North American EV and battery manufacturing, has opened the investment floodgates. Since the law passed in August, automakers and suppliers have announced more than $11 billion in EV battery investments.

Hyundai has pledged $16 billion globally through 2030 for EVs and aims to sell 3.23 million battery-powered vehicles globally by then.

Hyundai and Kia delivered around 119,000 EVs during the first quarter of 2023, down 2.2 percent from a year ago, according to SNE Research, a Seoul-based research firm.

Carly Schaffner contributed to this report.