LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) has begun operations at its plant in Lansing, Michigan. With the plant's full start-up, the company now has five battery production sites for energy storage systems (ESS) across North America.
LG Energy Solution said on the 19th that it held an opening ceremony for the Lansing plant on the 18th, local time. Attendees included Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Republican Representative Tom Barrett, along with Hong Sang-woo, the Korean consul general in Chicago; Kim Dong-myung, president of LG Energy Solution; and Choi Dae-sik, head of the company's Michigan subsidiary.
The Lansing plant is LG Energy Solution's seventh production facility in North America. As a combined site producing both lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for ESS and nickel-based ternary batteries for electric vehicles, it has an estimated annual capacity of more than 35 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
The LFP batteries for ESS made in Lansing will be supplied through Vertech, LG Energy Solution's ESS system integration (SI) unit, to power infrastructure and AI data center clients in North America. LG Energy Solution has signed a 6 trillion won ($4.3 billion) ESS battery supply contract with Tesla and plans to produce and deliver prismatic LFP battery products starting next year. The EV batteries are set to be used in vehicles including the 2027 Toyota Highlander, which will be built at Toyota's plant in Georgetown, Kentucky.
LG Energy Solution upgraded the Lansing plant, originally a joint venture with General Motors (GM), into a combined production site by buying out GM's stake in February last year and converting part of the manufacturing equipment into ESS lines.
With the Lansing plant now running, LG Energy Solution has five ESS production sites across North America. The company said these comprise three wholly owned sites — the Lansing plant in Michigan, the Holland plant in Michigan and the NextStar Energy plant in Ontario, Canada — and two joint-venture plants, the L-H Battery Company plant in Ohio (a joint venture with Honda) and the Ultium Cells plant in Tennessee (a joint venture with GM).
Kim Dong-myung, CEO of LG Energy Solution, said the start-up of the Lansing plant is "an important milestone that will accelerate the growth of our North American business." Kim added, "We will strengthen the U.S. battery ecosystem and expand local production capacity by building a cutting-edge battery manufacturing network that will support the future of the U.S. mobility industry and energy infrastructure."
