General Motors Co. (GM) and LG Chem, the largest South Korean chemical company, plan a combined investment of US $ 2.3 billion in a joint venture, aimed at producing lithium-ion batteries for electric cars in the United States, while the car group prepares to increase the electric vehicle production.
By virtue of the agreement, it is expected to receive more than $ 2 billion from GM, and LG Chem is expected to invest more than $ 1 billion, for the opening of a new plant in Ohio, creating one of the world’s largest battery facilities.
The plant will create 1,100 new jobs and will have an annual capacity of more than 30-gigawatt hours, with the capacity to expand. The company (GM) with equal ownership also requires the group to jointly develop new battery technologies with the objective of reducing costs.
This would be the second LG plant in America and the first battery production plant in partnership with automotive industry. Employees in the new plant would be entitled to a minimum salary of between 15 and 17 dollars per hour, the basic rate for US workers.
The site will develop and produce batteries for many of the group’s future electric vehicles, including the Cadillac EV crossover, expected in 2022.