Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors (GM) and LG Energy Solution, announced this Monday that it is modernizing its facilities in Spring Hill, Tennessee, USA, to produce low-cost battery cells for electric vehicles.
GM has already announced that lithium iron phosphate battery cells, known as LFP based on the chemical symbols of the elements, can be significantly cheaper than the batteries currently used in some fully electric vehicles, partly because they do not require expensive minerals like cobalt and nickel, materials that are used in lithium-ion batteries, the most common type.
“This update to the Spring Hill plant will enable increased production of lower-cost LFP cell technologies in the U.S., complementing our nickel-rich solutions and future lithium and manganese solutions, further diversifying our electric vehicle portfolio”, said Kurt Kelty, Vice President of Batteries, Propulsion and Sustainability at GM, in a statement.
The announcement of the Ultium plant expansion comes at a time when GM is working on a new battery technology to serve the brand’s larger electric SUVs and pickups. Ultium has already indicated that it expects to begin production of LFP cells by the end of 2027.
