LG Quadruples Pinal Battery Plant Plan

LG Energy Solution, a global manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobility, IT and energy storage systems, announced a four-fold expansion of its planned investment in a manufacturing complex to be built in the portion of the Town of Queen Creek that lies in Pinal County, to a total of $5.5 billion.

It is expected to create “thousands” of new jobs for the area, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority.

This will be the largest single investment for a stand-alone battery manufacturing site in North America.

LG plans to invest $3.2 billion to build a cylindrical battery manufacturing facility for electric vehicles with a capacity of 27 GWh. It’s also planning a $2.3 billion LFP pouch-type battery facility for energy storage systems with a capacity of 16 GWh.

Both are expected to break ground this year.

News of the expansion came in March, a year after the Korean corporation initially announced it would be putting $1.39 billion into the factory.

“Our decision to invest in Arizona demonstrates our strategic initiative to continue expanding our global production network, which is already the largest in the world, to further advance our innovative and top-quality products in scale and with speed,” said Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution. “We believe it’s the right move at the right time in order to empower clean energy transition in the U.S.”

LG plans to have the cylindrical battery factory start mass

Continued on page 71

Nikola said the trucks will be suitable for many uses, from short hauls to metro and regional over-the-road transportation, including smaller cargo loads and specialized jobs.

Playing a key role for many of the orders is a California state program that offers point-of-sale incentives of between $240,000 and $288,000 for qualifying vehicles. Buyers can also get a $40,000 tax credit through a federal program approved as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Nikola announced the breakthrough at the March 29 Automotive Press Association meeting in Detroit. “This 100 sale order milestone is certainly something to celebrate and shows the commitment of our customers, dealers, employees and stakeholders,” Lohscheller said. “And this is expected to be the first of many upcoming announcements.”

Other recent announcements from the Phoenix-based company include:

• Transitioning battery manufacturing for its electric fuel cell vehicles from California to the Coolidge plant is was completed in April, months ahead of the original schedule.

• Former Vice President, Corporate Controller Anastasiya “Stasy” Pasterick taking over as CFO in April following the retirement of Kim J. Brady.

• An agreement with Vancouver-based Klean Industries Inc., which focuses on recovery of clean energy and resources from waste, to encourage the conversion of its suppliers’ truck fleets to Nikola Tre FCEVs while Nikola looks for ways to use Klean’s wind, hydroelectric and solar power resources.