SPRING HILL, TN—Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors, will spend $275 million to expand its battery cell assembly plant
The expansion is in addition to the $2.3 billion investment announced in April 2021, and is expected to create 400 additional jobs. Once the facility is fully operational, Ultium Cells is expected to employ a workforce of 1,700 in Tennessee.
With the expansion, Ultium will increase battery cell production by more than 40 percent, from 35 to 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh). The factory will supply battery cells to General Motors’ Spring Hill assembly plant for production of the Cadillac LYRIQ, the first electric vehicle produced at the plant, and other GM Ultium-based electric vehicles. Production at the 2.8-million-square-foot facility will begin in late 2023.
The Tennessee site joins two other Ultium manufacturing sites in Ohio and Michigan. The Warren, OH, facility began battery cell production in August. The Lansing Delta Township facility in Michigan is under construction and will begin production in late 2024.
Once all three facilities are at full production capacity later this decade, Ultium expects to have more than 130 GWh of battery cell capacity in total. The Ultium factories will enable GM to assemble more than 1 million electric vehicles annually by mid-decade, while supporting GM’s plans to supply other automotive companies and industries including rail, aerospace, heavy trucking and marine customers.
