At the construction site of Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution's joint battery plant in the U.S. state of Georgia, 475 people, including about 300 Koreans, were arrested and detained by U.S. immigration authorities, disrupting the plant's construction. The battery industry worries that if the visa issues for Korean workers are not resolved, completion of the plant will be delayed, leading to disruptions in revenue amounting to hundreds of billions to trillions of won.
According to the battery industry on the 12th, since the crackdown on the 4th (local time), a considerable number of workers building the U.S. battery plant have been pulled out, and some equipment installations have been halted. An LG Energy Solution official said, "After the incident, those with Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) visas were sent back to Korea, and those with nonimmigrant short-term business (B-1) visas are waiting at their accommodations," adding, "We have not completely stopped construction of the plant, but there is no way the pace can be the same as before."
To build the problematic "HL-GA Battery Company," Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution signed a contract in 2023 to establish a North American battery joint venture. The joint investment was $4.3 billion (about 5.9895 trillion won), and they later decided to invest an additional $2 billion (about 2.7862 trillion won).
The plant plans to mass-produce about 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electric-vehicle batteries annually. The battery industry estimates revenue of about 300 billion won per 1 GWh. Applying this simply, if the Georgia joint battery plant operates normally, annual revenue would be about 9 trillion won, and even a one-month delay in the mass-production start would cause a shortfall of hundreds of billions of won.
If the plant cannot be operated, it also cannot receive the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (AMPC) benefits available when operating a plant in the United States to produce batteries and other products. Under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), companies can receive $35 in AMPC for every 1 kWh of battery cells produced in the United States and an additional $10 per kWh when modules are assembled and supplied along with the cells. LG Energy Solution received 1.4 trillion won in AMPC last year, which is more than its operating profit (575.4 billion won) for the same period.
In addition to the Georgia battery plant, LG Energy Solution is building standalone plants in Queen Creek, Arizona, and Lansing, Michigan. In Fayette County, Ohio, it is building a joint battery plant with Honda. Samsung SDI is constructing two joint plants in Indiana with Stellantis and General Motors (GM). SK On is building a joint battery plant with Hyundai Motor in Georgia and is also constructing joint plants with Ford in Kentucky and Tennessee.
LG Energy Solution and SK On initially expected the plants under construction to begin operations in 2026. Samsung SDI's scheduled start is 2027. Construction of the LG Energy Solution and SK On plants is nearly complete, with installation of battery production equipment and interior finishing reportedly remaining. A significant number of those arrested and detained are said to be employees of partner companies that make battery equipment.
The Korean workers who were detained are on their way back to Korea, but the visa issue has not been resolved. A battery industry official said, "When there's a problem with equipment, there are times we need to rush in, but if visa issues keep holding us back every time, we worry it could disrupt mass production of batteries."