Amsterdam-headquartered global auto manufacturer Stellantis and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution today announced that they will form a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America.
The two companies, which signed a memorandum of understanding, will together establish a new battery manufacturing factory. The location of that factory is not yet determined, but the groundbreaking for the facility is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2022.
They intend to launch the factory by the first quarter of 2024, and their goal is for the factory to have an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours.
The two companies have been working together on electrifying vehicles since 2014, when LG Energy Solution (then LG Chem) was selected by Stellantis (then Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) to supply the lithium-ion battery pack system and controls for the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, the only plug-in hybrid minivan in the US.
Stellantis, which was created out of the merger between Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group, is the sixth-largest automaker worldwide. It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells cars bearing its 15 car brands: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall, as well as Mopar auto parts.
The batteries produced at the new facility will be supplied to Stellantis assembly plants throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico for installation in next-generation EVs.
Stellantis is aiming for its US sales to consist of more than 40% electric vehicles by 2030, and plans to invest more than €30 billion ($34.8 billion) through 2025 in electrification and software development.
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, said:
Today’s announcement is further proof that we are deploying our aggressive electrification road map and are following through on the commitments we made during our EV Day event in July.
With this, we have now determined the next ‘gigafactory’ coming to the Stellantis portfolio to help us achieve a total minimum of 260 gigawatt hours of capacity by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
Stellantis and LG Energy’s new battery factory is a positive step for a company in need of acceleration of its electrification plans.
Stellantis’ goal of 40% electric vehicles by 2030 is pretty weak, so we hope to see the car giant increase that goal in the next couple years – especially seeing how it’ll have its own “gigafactory.”
This is also a boost for the US auto industry, with a battery factory landing in North America, thanks to Dutch and South Korean headquartered companies.
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Author: Michelle Lewis
Source: Electrek
