Electric battery manufacturer announces additional $275M investment in Spring Hill
Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors, will expand its Spring Hill battery cell manufacturing operations. The project represents a $275 million investment by Ultium Cells, which is in addition to the $2.3 billion investment announced in April 2021, and is expected to create 400 additional jobs. Once the facility is fully operational, Ultium Cells is expected to employ a workforce of 1,700. Ultium Cells will increase battery cell production by more than 40 %, from 35 gigawatt-hours to 50 GWh. The Tennessee facility will supply battery cells to General Motors’ Spring Hill assembly plant for production of the Cadillac LYRIQ, the first electric vehicle produced at the plant, and other GM Ultium Platform-based electric vehicles. Production at the 2.8-million-square-foot facility will begin in late 2023. Tennessee has made significant strides in electric vehicle manufacturing with investments from companies like General Motors and LG Energy Solution. Since 2017, companies have committed to create nearly 12,000 new jobs and invested $16 billion in Tennessee through EV-related projects. Additionally, with more than 180,000 electric vehicles produced in the state since 2013, Tennessee ranks No. 1 in the Southeast for electric vehicle manufacturing. Tennessee is also quickly becoming a leader in the domestic manufacturing of critical materials used to make lithium-ion batteries, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite. Since 2018, Tennessee has landed seven projects related to EV battery manufacturing or the EV battery supply chain, representing more than 1,700 new job commitments and roughly $4.3 billion in capital investment.