EV: General Motors Co. has sold its ownership in an electric-vehicle battery pack plant in Lansing, Michigan, to South Korean partner LG Capacity Solution, recouping approximately $1 billion in financing from the facility that plans to continue to provide energy cells to the automaker’s EVs.
GM generated the move on Monday, indicating that its battery cell facilities in Ohio and Tennessee, as well as partial supply from the new Lansing factory, will be sufficient to meet near-term EV demand without additional capital investments.GM continues to increase EV sales, but a drop in demand and political uncertainties over the future of federal EV tax subsidies have made all-electric car prospects less assured.
According to the announcement, the transaction is likely to finalise in the 1 quarter of next year.
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GM and LG still own 50% of Ultium Cells LLC
GM and LG still own 50% of Ultium Cells LLC, which operates 2 battery factories in Ohio and Tennessee. The Lansing plant is nearly completed. GM spokesperson Jim Cain stated in an interview that LG will be able to sell battery cells manufactured in Lansing to GM and other manufacturers.
“We have the right cell and production infrastructure in place to expand with the electric vehicle market in a capital-efficient manner,” said Paul Jacobson, GM’s senior vice president and CFO.When done, this deal will also help LG Energy Solutions to meet demand by using equipment that is nearly ready to go online. Additionally, it will make GM even more economical.”
GM and LG also intend to collaborate on the development of prismatic cells, moving away from Ultium’s pouch cells, according to a separate announcement. Prismatic products are rectangular in shape and can be packaged more effectively, reducing weight and cost while simplifying manufacture.
Kurt Kelty, the former Tesla Inc. executive appointed earlier this year to lead GM’s battery development, has begun changing the structure and chemistry of its battery cells and packs.
Kelty stated in an October interview that GM is testing various battery cell chemistries and designs to find the best solutions for each car. When General Motors began selling new EVs in late 2022, using cells of the same shape and materials made sense since it allowed the company to quickly bring a variety of models to market.
Now that the company has over a dozen models on the market, it can delve deeper into how it manufactures batteries to reduce costs. He claimed that with prismatic cells, GM can stack more of them in a pack to increase battery life on board the vehicles while cutting prices and weight.
GM has been in talks with Japan’s TDK Corp. about producing batteries in a US factory using lithium iron phosphate technologies licensed from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. of China. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are more affordable but have fewer resources than nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries.
Chevy Bolt EV goes into manufacturing next year
When the Chevy Bolt EV goes into manufacturing next year, it will use lithium iron phosphate batteries, but not from a joint venture with TDK in the United States.
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