General Motors, LG Energy Solution JV To Upgrade Spring Hill Facility To Scale Low-Cost Battery Cell Making

Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between General Motors (GM) and LG Energy Solution, said on Monday that it will upgrade its Spring Hill, Tennessee, battery cell manufacturing facility to scale production of low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells.  

GM shares traded about 1% lower on Monday at the time of writing.

Conversion of battery cell lines at Spring Hill to produce LFP cells will begin later this year, with commercial production expected by late 2027. The facility upgrade will build on a $2.3 billion investment announced in 2021, the company said, without detailing how much will be spent on the upgrade.

“This upgrade at Spring Hill will enable us to scale production of lower-cost LFP cell technologies in the U.S., complementing our high-nickel and future lithium manganese rich solutions and further diversifying our growing EV portfolio," said Kurt Kelty, VP of batteries, propulsion, and sustainability at GM.

With LFP battery technology, GM is targeting significant battery pack cost savings compared to today’s high-nickel battery pack.

The Ultium Cells plant in Warren, Ohio, will continue producing cells with nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum chemistry, the company said.

“This investment expands our capabilities beyond a single battery cell chemistry, allowing us to produce new chemistries alongside our existing cells,” said Kee Eun, President and CEO of Ultium Cells. The joint venture provides battery cell capacity to support GM's North American electric vehicle assembly capacity.

In the second quarter through the end of June, GM sold 46,280 EVs in the U.S., marking a growth of 111% year-on-year, and grabbing an estimated market share of 16%.

GM also said in May that it will commercialize lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic battery cells for future EVs. Ultium Cells plans to start commercial production of LMR prismatic cells in the United States by 2028. Pre-production of the battery cells is expected to begin at an LG Energy Solution facility by late 2027.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around GM is trending in the ‘neutral’ territory, coupled with ‘low’ message volume.

The stock is down 0.36% this year but up by about 8% over the past 12 months.

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