LG Energy Solution plans U.S. battery JV with Honda

Team IIGA
January 18, 2022
S.Korea's LG Energy Solution plans U.S. battery JV with Honda -report By  Reuters

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) plans to build a battery joint venture (JV) with Japan's Honda Motor Co Ltd in the United States

The potential battery JV between LGES and Honda could cost as much as 4 trillion won ($3.4 billion) and have an annual production capacity of up to 40 gigawatt hours (GWh) of batteries, enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles (EVs), the newspaper reported. The report did not have details, such as the timeline of when the JV would be built and begin operations.

LGES, LG Chem Ltd's battery subsidiary, commands more than 20% of the global EV battery market and supplies Tesla Inc, General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG among others.

"We are discussing various ways to cooperate with automakers, including establishing joint ventures, but nothing has been decided," LGES said in a statement.

A Honda USA spokeswoman declined to comment on the story.

"This is not something that Honda has announced. We cannot comment on speculation," said a spokesperson at Honda in Tokyo.

Honda and its alliance partner GM plan to introduce two jointly developed large-sized EV models in North America, using GM's Ultium batteries, in 2024. GM will make Ultium batteries under a JV with LG.

Honda Motor's chief executive, Toshihiro Mibe, said last year the Japanese automaker was willing to form new alliances to make electrification profitable.


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