[News Article] LG Energy Solution to supply Toyota with batteries, invest $3 billion in Michigan pla…
LG Energy Solution
to supply Toyota with batteries, invest $3 billion in Michigan plant
BY SARAH CHEA, Korea
JoongAng Daily - LG Energy Solution inked a battery deal with Toyota Motor,
which will make the Korean company invest 4 trillion won ($3 billion) to build
a dedicated production line in its Michigan plant. The battery maker
said Thursday the deal with the world's largest automaker is to supply 20
gigawatt-hours of NCMA — nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum-based — battery
modules per year, which is enough to manufacture around 200,000
high-performance electric vehicles. The supply will
start in 2025 and last for 10 years. LG Energy Solution's
NCMA batteries contain 90 percent nickel. Aluminum content in the batteries
increases their capacity, durability and resistance. They also support quick
charging. The size of the deal
has not been disclosed. LG Energy Solution
will invest an additional $3 billion in its Holland, Michigan battery factory
to build a dedicated production line for the deal by the end of 2025. The battery maker's
modules will be transferred to Toyota's plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, to be
assembled into battery packs for the automaker's new electric vehicles in the
North American region. The deal is LG
Energy Solution's largest single supply agreement secured outside joint venture
agreements. "We're excited
to have Toyota, the best-selling global automaker, as our new customer,"
Kwon Young-soo, LG Energy Solution CEO, said. "The agreement also presents
another big opportunity for us to strengthen our production capacity in North
America, thereby bringing more real-life, large-scale progress toward
electrification in the region." With the latest
Toyota deal, LG Energy Solution now has all the top five global automakers as
clients, including Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor, Renault Nissan Alliance and
General Motors. As the world's
largest automaker in terms of sales, Toyota generated 20 percent of its sales
from the North American region last year. Toyota has said it plans to build up
to 3.5 million electric vehicles annually by 2030 and aims to offer 30 EV
models globally, including in its Lexus brand. LG Energy Solution
has eight battery manufacturing facilities operating or under construction in
North America. The company's annual production capacity will be around 300
gigawatt-hours by 2026, enough to make around 4.1 million EVs. LG Energy Solution's
order backlog stood at 440 trillion won at the end of June. LG Energy Solution
is the world's No. 2 battery maker as of the first half after CATL, with 16.5
percent of the market share. Source: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-10-05/business/industry/LG-Energy-Solution-to-supply-Toyota-with-batteries-invest-3-billion-in-Michigan-plant/1883612
2023.10.10