Why do lithium battery giants set up battery factories in the United States?

Many lithium battery industry giants have deployed the US power battery market, many of which are the Top 15 power battery companies. These moves have a huge relationship with the strength of the United States in electric vehicles and the introduction of multiple preferential policies by the US government. It plays a positive role in promoting the development of the power battery industry, and the competition among battery companies will become more and more fierce in the future.

Volkswagen is seeking to build new assembly and battery plants in US

On June 9, according to reports, on Wednesday local time, the CEO of Volkswagen of America said in an interview that the company is actively seeking to build new assembly and battery factories in the United States. He said VW has been looking for a site for a U.S. battery plant and should make a decision by the end of this year. Volkswagen is considering building its own battery production facility, using third-party suppliers or forming a joint venture.

The chief operating officer of Volkswagen said: "The company aims to alleviate the impending battery shortage by supplementing supplier supplies with its own production." The move comes after Volkswagen spent $22 million to build a new battery testing lab near its Chattanooga, Tennessee assembly plant to provide battery testing and optimization services for electric vehicles in the U.S. market.

2.Japanese and Korean companies scramble to build battery factories in the United States

① Honda and LG Energy Solution plan to build new battery plant in U.S.

Honda and LG Energy Solution are also considering building a new battery plant in Ohio. As early as January, it was reported that Honda and LG Energy Solution were discussing building a factory with an annual capacity of 40GWh, which could supply batteries for 600,000 electric vehicles a year. The plant could cost about 4 trillion won ($3.2 billion).

Ohio, which is located in the US Midwest, is considered an advantageous candidate because Honda has an auto manufacturing plant there, which will facilitate the transportation of batteries by LG Energy Solution. However, the source said the decision was not final and the location could change. In April this year, Honda announced its latest electrification strategy. According to the plan, the company will launch 30 pure electric vehicles by 2030. By then, the annual output will reach 2 million.

② LG Energy Solution is expanding battery capacity in the U.S.

In January this year, LG Energy Solution announced that it will jointly invest $2.1 billion with General Motors to build a third battery factory in the United States, with an annual production capacity of 50GWh. On February 1 this year, the chairman of General Motors announced that it will announce the location of the fourth joint venture plant between LG Energy Solution and General Motors in the first half of this year, and the plant is expected to have a production capacity of 30GWh. 

In March this year, LG Energy Solution and Stellantis signed an agreement to establish a joint venture company in Canada and build the first large-scale domestic electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant. The joint venture company's target annual production capacity exceeds 45GWh. Also in March of this year, LG Energy Solution plans to invest 1.7 trillion won (about 1.36 billion U.S. dollars) to build its first cylindrical battery factory in the United States in Arizona, the United States, with a planned annual production capacity of 11GWh.

③ Samsung SDI to partner with Stellenatis to invest in a power battery factory in the US

On May 24 this year, South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI announced that it will cooperate with multinational automaker Stellenatis to invest more than 2.5 billion US dollars to build a power battery factory in Kokomo, Indiana, USA. Samsung SDI said the joint venture plant will start construction at the end of this year and start production in the first quarter of 2025. The annual production capacity is initially planned to be 23 GWh, and it is expected to expand to 33 GWh in the future, and the investment will increase to 3.1 billion US dollars.

Stellantis, an automaker formed by the merger of France's Peugeot Citroen Group (PSA) and US Fiat Chrysler Group (FCA) in January this year, plans to invest 41 trillion won (about 32.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the electric vehicle business by 2025 ). Samsung SDI, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, provides batteries for customers such as BMW and Ford, and has established power battery production plants in Ulsan, South Korea, China, and Hungary.

④ SK On is expected to invest 3 trillion won for its new battery plant in Georgia

Another Korean battery maker, SK On, has two battery factories in Georgia (with annual capacity of 9.8 GWh and 11.7 GWh), in addition to a planned $11.4 billion investment with Ford Motor to build three battery factories in the United States. Final talks are in progress with Hyundai over the former's stake in the latter's battery plant in Georgia. According to Korean media reports, SK On's new battery factory in Georgia is expected to invest 3 trillion won (about 2.4 billion US dollars), with a planned annual production capacity of 40GWh. 

It is reported that LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On Korea's three major battery manufacturers plan to build a total of 11 battery factories in the United States by 2026. In addition, in order to produce next-generation 4680 battery for Tesla, Japan's Panasonic has decided to buy land in Oklahoma or Kansas to build a new factory. In May, HYUNDAI Motor Group reached an agreement with the U.S. state of Georgia to spend $5.54 billion to build its first dedicated electric vehicle and battery factory in the United States. The new plant will break ground in early 2023 and start production in the first half of 2025.

3.Chinese companies are also actively developing the US power battery market

In terms of Chinese companies, in December last year, GOTION HIGH-TECH announced that the company’s global wholly-owned subsidiary, American GOTION, signed a strategic supply and localization agreement with a large listed US auto company. According to the agreement, the car company will purchase a total of no less than 200GWh of batteries from GOTION HIGH-TECH from 2023 to 2028.

On March 16 this year, Envision AESC, a smart battery technology company under Envision Group, announced that it will build a new digital zero-carbon power battery super factory in the United States and achieve mass production in 2025. This is the second battery factory that Envision AESC will build in North America. In early May of this year, foreign media reported that CATL entered the final review stage for its location selection for its power battery factory in the United States. CATL's U.S. plant is expected to supply batteries to BMW and Ford, with potential locations including Kentucky and South Carolina.

4.The US government has introduced multiple preferential policies to attract battery manufacturers

The giants have made efforts in the US power battery market, which has a huge relationship with the strength of the United States in electric vehicles and the introduction of various preferential policies by the US government. The United States is the third largest auto market in the world, bringing together many international auto companies such as Tesla, Rivian, GM, and Ford. In order to speed up the electrification process and attract major battery manufacturers to produce batteries in the United States, the US government has issued a number of preferential policies.

In May last year, US President Biden proposed a $174 billion electric vehicle development plan, and the US government will provide subsidies for new battery factories; In February of this year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued two notices to provide a total of $2.91 billion in funding for battery material refining and construction of battery material processing, battery pack manufacturing facilities, and recycling facility development; On May 2 this year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would receive $3.16 billion from the Infrastructure Act to invest in new construction, retrofits and expansion of facilities related to electric vehicle batteries.

In a word, enterprises to set up battery factories in the United States can reduce the pressure on costs and logistics, and have a positive role in promoting the development of the power battery industry. On the other hand, the competition among battery companies such as CATL and LG Energy Solution will become more and more intense. As an important field in the power battery market, the recycling of power batteries also deserves extensive attention. If you want to learn more about this, please read car battery recycling on our website