Earlier this week, the first steel beam was installed at the LG Energy Solution and Honda joint venture battery plant site in Jeffersonville, Ohio.
Courtesy photo
JEFFERSONVILLE — LG Energy Solution and Honda marked another major milestone of construction for its new joint venture EV battery facility this week when the first steel beam was installed at the plant site in Jeffersonville.
The companies have committed to invest $3.5 billion, with plans to create 2,200 jobs, in the over two million square feet facility, with an overall investment projected to reach $4.4 billion.
“There are many beginnings when you form a new company to build a new facility, but today is an important milestone for the LGES-Honda team, for the local community and everyone working at the site to create our new EV battery facility,” said Bob Lee, CEO of the new LGES-Honda joint venture. “Construction is on track and we look forward to reaching many more milestones on the way to starting production of EV batteries in 2025.”
The new joint venture facility — located at the Fayette County mega-site at the I-71/US 35 intersection — is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, with an annual production capacity of approximately 40GWh. The joint venture aims to start mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries in 2025, to be supplied exclusively to Honda auto plants to produce EVs to be sold in North America.
Honda plans to start selling models built on its own EV underpinnings starting in 2026, but it will also continue to co-develop affordable EVs with GM, to be built by Honda, according to a news release. The Japanese automaker plans to introduce 30 new electric vehicles globally by 2030, with plans to sell all zero-emission automobiles by 2040.
Company workers in Ohio have been building gas-electric hybrid vehicles for years, and that experience will help in the switch to EVs, according to officials. The Marysville plant currently employs 3,500 people, while East Liberty has 2,500. The Anna engine plant has about 2,300 workers.
Electric vehicle sales are expected to rise dramatically between now and 2030 in the U.S. and globally, but even at the start of the next decade, they will be just over one-third of U.S. new vehicle sales. The LMC Automotive consulting firm expects EVs to be 5.6% of U.S. sales this year, rising to 13.5% by 2025 and 36.4% in 2030.
Future employment information and other updates regarding the LGES-Honda joint venture operation can be found at www.lgeshonda.com.
