EV batteries on the way

Automakers plan to launch dozens of electric vehicle models in the second half of this decade and beyond. But the problem is you can't make an EV until somebody manufactures a battery for it.

That's why the industry has come alive with new EV battery projects. To be sure, several EV battery plants already exist in the U.S. — assembly lines have been humming along fine for years with battery packs produced by the likes of Panasonic in Reno, Nev., and AESC in Smyrna, Tenn. But now the scramble for more capacity is bringing billions of dollars in new investments to locations around the U.S. and Canada, with more expected to follow soon.

The following are projects that are underway — or are about to be.

AESC, formerly known as Envision AESC, broke ground last August on a $2 billion battery plant in Bowling Green, Ky., with a capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours to supply 300,000 EVs a year by 2027. The project's first customer will be Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. in Vance, Ala., but AESC officials have made it clear the Kentucky project will also supply other automakers. AESC was an early player in the EV battery segment when it launched as a joint venture between Nissan, NEC Corp. and NEC Tokin to supply lithium ion batteries to its part-owner Nissan Motor Co. AESC operates a separate battery plant adjacent to Nissan's Leaf EV assembly line in Smyrna, Tenn.

AESC broke ground last month on an $810 million plant near Florence, S.C., that will supply BMW's U.S. assembly plant with cylindrical battery cells. Starting in 2026, AESC will manufacture BMW's sixth generation of cylindrical battery cells to be assembled into finished battery packs at the automaker's own plant about 200 miles away in Spartanburg, S.C., where BMW plans to produce multiple EVs. The BMW-designed battery is expected to deliver a higher energy density, with a 30 percent increase in efficiency and faster charging times. In other markets, BMW also has battery makers Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, and EVE Energy producing its battery cells.

Gotion Inc. plans to build a $2.4 billion factory in Green Township, Mich. The Chinese battery manufacturer intended to build part of the campus in nearby Big Rapids, Mich., but faced opposition from the Township board because of its ties to China and environmental concerns. Gotion's plan is to build four manufacturing plants on about 500 acres in Green Township, but work was on hold for a month as the company awaited results from a federal review examining potential national security risks. Last month Gotion said it will move forward after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. said the proposed purchase of the land is not covered under the Defense Production Act of 1950.

Electrovaya is prepping its first U.S. manufacturing facility, a $75 million factory near Jamestown, N.Y., that will produce battery cells for electric forklifts, trucks, robots, buses and more. The Canadian battery maker already has two plants in Canada. Electrovaya is expected to produce more than 1 GWh of battery and energy storage systems over the next five years, according to a local newspaper. Electrovaya said in March it had received a $14 million battery order from a Fortune 500 company in the U.S. but did not name its customer.

Ford Motor Co. said it will open a $3.5 billion battery plant in Marshall, Mich., in 2026. Ford will own the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan and will use technology from China's CATL. The plant will have annual capacity for 35 GWh of lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, cells — enough to power about 400,000 EVs. Ford is relying on the LFP chemistry to help increase production of EVs. LFP cells are less expensive than the widely used lithium nickel manganese cobalt cells but also have less energy density.

LG Energy Solution and Honda Motor Co. began construction of a joint-venture 40 GWh battery plant this year in Jeffersonville, Ohio, to supply pouch-type lithium ion batteries for the EVs that Honda plans to produce at existing assembly plants in the area. The initial $3.5 billion investment will grow to $4.4 billion, according to the two companies. Construction is on a fast schedule to be completed by the end of 2024 to support mass production of vehicles at the end of 2025. Honda is separately spending $700 million to retool several of its existing auto and powertrain plants in Ohio for production of EVs based on its new Honda e:Architecture starting in 2026.

LG Energy Solution plans to invest $5.5 billion to build a battery manufacturing campus in Queen Creek, Ariz., about 40 miles east of Phoenix. The complex will have two facilities, one for cylindrical batteries for EVs and another for lithium iron phosphate batteries for energy storage systems. The facilities will have a capacity of 43 GWh. LG Energy Solution plans to break ground this year. The battery manufacturer is targeting production of EV cylindrical batteries in Arizona in 2025 and of LFP pouch-style batteries for energy storage in 2026.

The facilities are solely owned by LG Energy Solution and not tied to a specific automaker. The company says the plant locations will reduce logistics cost because of their proximity to EV and energy storage customers.

Our Next Energy Inc., a battery startup in Michigan, last year committed $1.6 billion to open a plant in Van Buren Charter Township, Mich., that will produce about 20 GWh in lithium iron phosphate batteries for commercial vehicles. The site will undertake raw material refinement, cathode materials production, and cell and battery manufacturing. Unlike other EV battery projects, Our Next Energy leased an existing industrial building rather constructing from the ground up, and it now expects to launch commercial production by the end of the year, according to CEO Mujeeb Ijaz. The startup said it has an agreement to supply its batteries to Shyft Group for Class 3-5 trucks.

Panasonic Energy Co., the operating name given last year to Panasonic's EV battery business, is investing $4 billion in a new plant just outside of Kansas City, Kan., to produce 2170 cylindrical lithium ion batteries. Mass production will begin by March 2025 with 30 GWh of capacity and a plan to supply primarily its main U.S. customer, Tesla, but also other EV makers the company has not identified yet. There had been expectations that Panasonic would use its second U.S. plant to produce its more advanced 4680 high-capacity lithium ion batteries for Tesla. So far, Panasonic produces that battery technology in Japan. Panasonic's first U.S. battery Gigafactory near Reno, Nev., solely supplies Tesla, which has a growing demand in North America for batteries. Tesla and Panasonic are currently expanding the factory to be able to produce 4680 batteries.

In April, Panasonic Energy Co. confirmed press reports that it is now looking for a third U.S. battery plant location, possibly in Oklahoma, to produce 4680 batteries. But as of last month, no official decision had been announced. Meanwhile, Reuters reported in May that Panasonic confirmed that it is planning not one, but two additional U.S. battery plants to manufacture its 4680 batteries but has not decided where to locate them. Tesla wants to incorporate the 4680s into its larger vehicles, including its upcoming Cybertruck, and is already making a small number of 4680 batteries in Tesla's Texas assembly plant.

Volkswagen Group plans to spend $7 billion to build a battery cell manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, with its battery subsidiary PowerCo. Volkswagen has said the project will be its first such factory in North America and could become its biggest of its kind in the world. At its proposed 12.9 million square feet, it will be the largest manufacturing plant in Canada and have capacity to build 90 GWh of battery cells a year, enough to power about 1 million EVs.

Stellantis and Samsung SDI announced in May that they will construct a joint-venture battery plant in Indiana to support the automaker's plans for EV production. The $2.5 billion investment will be built near Stellantis engine and transmission plants in Kokomo, Ind. Stellantis previously said it is investing $229 million in three Kokomo plants to produce electrified, eight-speed transmissions. The Samsung SDI venture is expected to launch in 2025 with an annual capacity of 23 GWh. But the companies said it will increase to 33 GWh over the next few years with additional investment. The new plant will employ 1,400.

Samsung SDI and General Motors revealed in June that they will build a joint-venture EV battery plant in New Carlisle, Ind., with an expected cost of $3 billion. Its planned capacity will be more than 30 GWh, and in making the announcement, GM CEO Mary Barra said the site will "help supply cells for millions of all-electric vehicles for customers across North America." Samsung SDI's technology will incorporate nickel to make prismatic and cylindrical cells that will allow for additional form factors in GM's upcoming EVs. The project, expected to employ 1,700, will be GM's fourth North American EV battery plant but represents a departure from its recent battery plants, which partnered with LG Energy.

Battery cell production at the SK On-Ford Motor Co. joint venture in Kentucky and Tennessee is set to start in 2025. Ford and SK On plan to invest a combined $11.4 billion and create nearly 11,000 jobs at the Tennessee and Kentucky sites. Ford expects the BlueOval SK battery sites — two plants in Kentucky and one in Tennessee — to produce about 129 GWh of power a year. The batteries will support Ford's target of 2 million EVs globally by the end of 2026.

In Tennessee, BlueOval City will focus on assembly of Ford's electric F-Series lineup and will include a battery plant, suppliers and battery recycling on site. Ford and SK On plan to hire about 6,000 workers for their project.

The partners will hire another 5,000 employees for the Kentucky locations. Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy said it will loan $9.2 billion to the Ford-SK On venture to support their battery plant investment.

SK On has a joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group for a battery plant in Bartow County, Ga. The plant is expected to start making battery cells in 2025 with an annual production capacity of 35 GWh, enough for about 300,000 EVs. SK On and Hyundai plan to invest a combined $5 billion in the plant. SK On already supplies batteries for the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60.

Toyota has announced and twice expanded its plans to produce its own EV batteries in Liberty, N.C., to supply new EVs in North America. In 2021, the automaker said it would partner there with its affiliate supplier, Toyota Tsusho, to invest $1.29 billion for battery production, creating 1,750 new jobs. Last August, Toyota upped the project cost to $3.8 billion. And last month, Toyota again boosted the project investment plans to $5.9 billion. News of the expanded plant project, which will come on line in 2025, accompanied Toyota's announcement that it will introduce a new three-row electric crossover, its first EV to be produced in North America, at its assembly plant in Georgetown, Ky.