General Motors and POSCO Chemical have announced plans to form a joint venture through which they will construct a factory in North America to process critical battery materials for GM’s Ultium electric vehicle platform. The joint venture will process Cathode Active Material (CAM), a key battery material that represents about 40% of the cost of a battery cell. The location of the facility, which will create hundreds of jobs when it opens in 2024, will be announced later.
“Our work with POSCO Chemical is a key part of our strategy to rapidly scale U.S. EV production and drive innovation in battery performance, quality and cost,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, global product development, purchasing and supply chain. “We are building a sustainable and resilient North America-focused supply chain for EVs covering the entire ecosystem from raw materials to battery cell manufacturing and recycling.”
The new facility will supply the Ultium Cells LLC facilities that GM and LG Energy Solution are building in Lordstown, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Two more U.S.-based Ultium cell plants are planned by mid-decade.
GM and POSCO Chemical have signed a non-binding term sheet to create the joint venture and expect to execute definitive agreements soon.
