LG Energy Solution(373220) will ramp up its plant in Lansing, Michigan, to target the North American energy storage system (ESS) market.
LG Energy Solution said on the 19th that it held an opening ceremony on the 18th (local time) at its plant in Lansing, Michigan.
The event was attended by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Minister of the Interior Doug Burgum, Republican Rep. Tom Barrett, and other key U.S. figures, as well as Chicago Consul General Hong Sang-woo, LG Energy Solution Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Kim Dong-myung, and Michigan head Choi Dae-sik.
The Lansing plant is LG Energy Solution's seventh production plant in North America. The Lansing plant will produce both lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for ESS and nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries for electric vehicles. It can produce more than 35 GWh of battery cells annually.
LFP batteries for ESS will be supplied to customers related to critical power infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers through LG Energy Solution's ESS system integration (SI) subsidiary Vertech. LG Energy Solution secured new ESS orders worth more than 3 trillion won in the first half of this year.
Batteries for electric vehicles will be supplied to Toyota. They are expected to be installed in vehicles such as the 2027 Toyota Highlander produced at Toyota's plant in Georgetown, Kentucky.
CEO Kim Dong-myung said, "The launch of operations at the Lansing plant is an important milestone that will accelerate the growth of LG Energy Solution's North American business," adding, "We will build a state-of-the-art battery manufacturing network to support the future of the U.S. mobility industry and energy infrastructure and expand local production capacity."
LG Energy Solution has established a five-site production base system targeting the North American ESS market. The production bases are three standalone plants — ▲ the Lansing plant in Michigan ▲ the Holland plant in Michigan ▲ the NextStar Energy Ontario plant in Canada — and two joint-venture plants — ▲ the L-H Battery Company plant in Ohio with Honda ▲ the Ultium Cells plant in Tennessee with GM.
LG Energy Solution plans to secure more than 50 GWh of LFP battery production capacity for ESS in North America by the end of this year. According to market research firm Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. ESS market is expected to grow to about four times its current size by 2031. New installations are projected to reach 499 GWh.