Ultium Cells to retool Spring Hill facility, invest $1B

Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors (GM), will retool and diversify its Spring Hill battery cell manufacturing operations. Ultium Cells will invest $1 billion in its Spring Hill facility, which is expected to be the first in the world to produce prismatic lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery cells in mass production, a technology that offers energy density 33% greater than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) — the leading affordable battery chemistry — but at a comparable cost. Facility modifications will begin later this year and are expected to be completed in 2028. The announcement builds on a partnership between the two companies to develop prismatic battery cell technology and related chemistries and on GM’s long legacy of American ingenuity that’s produced innovations like the small-block V8 engine, OnStar connected vehicle services and hands-free Super Cruise. GM and LG initially pledged to create 1,300 jobs and an investment of more than $2.3 billion in 2021, following this up with an expansion in 2022 that created another 400 jobs and invested a further $275 million.