Honda and LG Energy Solution have held an official groundbreaking ceremony at their new joint venture (JV) EV battery plant in Fayette County, Ohio. The pair will invest US$3.5bn in the JV, with the overall investment estimated to reach US$4.4bn.
Covering more than 185,000m2, the facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024 and will create around 2,200 jobs. The companies plan to deliver a yearly production capacity of around 40GWh, supplying advanced lithium-ion batteries to support Honda’s plan to build battery-electric vehicles in North America.
“We are excited to embark on this partnership with Honda, a leader in the global auto industry with a reputation for quality and reliability,” said Robert Lee, CEO of the new JV company, L-H Battery Company. “If we harness these strengths, I have no doubt our joint venture will be the most successful battery plant in the world, and we look forward to being a part of this massive transformation toward sustainability.”
“We have talked a lot about the partnership between Honda and LG Energy Solution, but the communities of southern Ohio are a part of this venture, too, and we see it not so much as a joint venture but a tri-venture between our companies and the community,” said L-H Battery Company COO Rick Riggle. “We share similar values and perspectives regarding the relationship we want to have with our new workforce, and this spirit of teamwork will be key to our success.”
The plant aims to start mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries by the end of 2025. These will be provided exclusively to Honda auto plants to produce EVs to be sold in North America.
Honda is also investing US$700m to retool several of its existing auto and powertrain plants in Ohio to enable the facilities to produce electric vehicles using the batteries made at the new JV facility.
Honda plans to begin production and sales of Honda EVs in North America in 2026, based on the company’s new Honda e: Architecture.
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