By Rod Walton, EnergyTech Senior Editor
General Motors, which recently held a grand opening for its new Factory Zero electric vehicle plant in Michigan as a testament to its EV commitment, is forming a joint venture to build a battery cell production facility in North America by 2024.
The automaker will partner with South Korean firm POSCO Chemical on a plant to process cathode active material (CAM) for GM’s Ultium EV platform. CAM is a key material that represents about 40 percent of the cost of a battery cell. The location of the facility, which is hoped to be completed and operational in 2024, will be announced later.
"Our work with POSCO Chemical is a key part of our strategy to rapidly scale U.S. EV production and drive innovation in battery performance, quality and cost," said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "We are building a sustainable and resilient North America-focused supply chain for EVs covering the entire ecosystem from raw materials to battery cell manufacturing and recycling."
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The new facility will supply the Ultium Cells LLC facilities GM and LG Energy Solution are building in Lordstown, Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Two more U.S.-based Ultium cell plants are planned by mid-decade as GM drives mass adoption of EVs with high-volume Ultium-powered EVs, including a Chevrolet crossover priced around $30,000.
"We are very pleased to participate in the global battery supply chain project with General Motors," said Kyungzoon Min, the CEO of POSCO Chemical. "Through close partnership, we will innovate battery materials and contribute to accelerate the adoption of EVs based on our world-class product development, mass production capacity, and raw materials competitiveness."
Last month, GM opened its new Factory Zero, an EV Plant repurposed its historic assembly plant near Detroit, where it will produce the Hummer EV. GM is targeting manufacture of 30 EV models by 2025.
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(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can reached at [email protected]).
