Hyundai, LG Energy To Build $4.3-B EV Battery Plant In U.S.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) on Friday said they will build a $4.3 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the US amid a push to take advantage of tax credits, CNN reported.

Photo Insert: The signing ceremony took place in LGES’s headquarters in Seoul on May 26 with the attendance of Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company and Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution.

Manufacturers must adhere to new US sourcing requirements for EV battery components and critical minerals so that buyers of their vehicles can qualify for up to $7,500 in tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Vehicles from Hyundai Motor Co. and sister automaker Kia Corp. are currently not eligible.

Hyundai and LGES said construction of the factory in the state of Georgia will begin in the second half of 2023, with battery production starting at the end of 2025 at the earliest.

It will have an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh), enough for 300,000 EVs, they said. Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest automaker by vehicle sales, is building EV and battery manufacturing facilities in Bryan County in the state, where its joint factory with LGES will be based, Reuters also reported.

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