Honda, LG Energy Begin Construction of Multi-Billion Ohio EV Battery Plant

Honda and LG Energy Solution have announced the beginning of the construction of their joint venture electric vehicle battery plant that will be spread over 2 million square feet in Fayette County in Ohio.

In January, 2023, Honda said that the two companies have committed to invest $3.5 billion in the new joint venture (JV) facility. The overall investment will reach $4.4 billion.

The facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, with the aim for approximately 40GWh of annual production capacity. The JV company will deliver lithium-ion batteries with cutting-edge technology to support the plan of Honda to build battery-electric vehicles in North America.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Toshihiro Mibe, President and CEO of Honda Motor, Dong-Myung Kim, Head of the Advanced Automotive Battery Division of LG Energy Solution, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted among other officials.

The new JV CEO, Robert H. Lee said that LG Energy Solution is the leading battery manufacturer globally and Honda is a leader in the global auto industry with a reputation for quality and reliability. “If we harness these strengths, I have no doubt our joint venture will be the most successful battery plant in the world, and we look forward to being a part of this massive transformation toward sustainability,” he said.

The location of the joint venture between the two firms was announced last October, and was formally established in January, 2023. The plant aims to start mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries by the end of 2025. It will be provided exclusively to Honda auto plants to produce EVs to be sold in North America.

Honda also has announced plans to invest $700 million to re-tool several of its existing auto and powertrain plants in Ohio for production of electric vehicles that will utilize the batteries made at the new JV facility. The automaker plans to begin production and sales of Honda EVs in North America in 2026, based on its new Honda e:Architecture.

As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050, Honda has a vision to make battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles represent 100% of its vehicle sales by 2040.

LG Energy Solution said that it looks to expedite the global EV transition by expanding its present annual production capacity of 200GWh to further 300 GWh by year-end.