LG Considers Building Battery Plant for Electric Cars in Arizona

(Bloomberg) -- LG Energy Solution will invest around $2 billion on increasing output in North America as the South Korean battery maker ramps up production to meet rising demand for electric cars. 

LG will spend about $1.5 billion on a joint venture plant with Stellantis NV in Canada, the Seoul-based firm said in a company filing Wednesday, without disclosing the exact location. Separately, it will build its own plant in the U.S. to supply local electric-car startups and will invest some $542 million, according to another filing. 

Bloomberg reported earlier Wednesday that LG Energy is planning on supplying cylinder-type batteries for startups in the U.S. from a new plant in Arizona. The new Arizona plant, along with a separate expansion of output in Michigan, were reported earlier by Korean media. 

Read more: LG Wins Subsidies for $1.7 Billion Plant Expansion in Michigan

The world’s second-largest battery maker behind China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (or CATL) has picked Ontario, Canada for the site of the facility with Stellantis, Bloomberg News reported last week. 

Competition among battery makers to ramp up capacity is intensifying in North America as auto manufacturers from General Motors Co. to Ford Motor Co. electrify their fleets and President Joe Biden looks to encourage the technological shift. CATL is said to be considering sites across North America for a massive $5 billion plant and Japan’s Panasonic Corp. is engaged in talks over the site for a new U.S. factory that would supply Tesla Inc.

(Updates story to reflect LG filing.)

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