[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] LG Chem announced on the 13th that it will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for North America's largest bipolar material plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, on the 19th. It has been 13 months since it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tennessee to build a bipolar material plant.

The plant's annual production of anode materials is 120,000 tons, which can produce 1.2 million batteries for high-performance electric vehicles. It is the largest in North America by a single factory. A total of $3.2 billion (4 trillion won) will be spent on the construction of a 1.7 million-square-meter plant. As a first step, the company plans to produce 60,000 tons a year from 2026 and then increase production.

Tennessee is home to a joint battery plant with General Motors (GM) and LG Energy Solutions. The cathode materials to be produced at LG Chem's Tennessee plant will be mainly supplied to GM, which has previously signed an order contract. The Tennessee plant will produce high-nickel NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum) anode materials for next-generation electric vehicle batteries that LG Chem is focusing on.

LG Chem, which made 5 trillion won in sales last year in its battery and materials business, including anode materials, plans to raise its sales to 20 trillion won in 2027 based on its new plant in the U.S. Earlier, LG Chem signed a contract with Toyota's North American subsidiary to supply 2.8 trillion won worth of bipolar materials by 2030.

 

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