LG-Honda Starts Production of Energy Storage Batteries in the US
JAKARTA - The battery factory owned by the joint venture company LG Energy Solution and Honda in the United States has started mass production of lithium-ion battery cells for energy storage systems or energy storage systems (ESS).
Kyodo News, quoted on Friday, July 3, reported that LG Energy Solution Ltd. said the plant operated by L-H Battery Co. in Jeffersonville, Ohio, began producing ESS battery cells on Thursday local time. The battery cells will be supplied through LG Energy Solution Vertech, a subsidiary of the company in North America that is engaged in the field of ESS system integration.
The battery will be used for energy storage systems for the electric grid, commercial, industrial, and residential sectors across the United States.
The plant was originally designed to produce electric vehicle (EV) battery cells. However, LG Energy Solution changed its production strategy by focusing part of its capacity on ESS batteries in response to changes in electric vehicle regulations in the United States as well as the prospect of a stronger energy storage market growth.
L-H Battery said it would maintain a flexible production portfolio by producing battery cells for hybrid electric vehicles and ESS according to market demand.
This mass production is part of LG Energy Solution's strategy to expand its local manufacturing base in the growing North American ESS market.
L-H Battery Chief Executive Officer Koo Cha-hoon said ESS will be one of the company's main businesses in the future, along with the production of battery cells for hybrid electric vehicles.
"ESS is one of L-H Battery's main growth businesses in the future and, together with the production of hybrid electric vehicle battery cells, will be one of the main pillars of the company's business," Koo said, quoted by Kyodo News.
According to market research firm SNE Research, the ESS battery market in North America is expected to grow rapidly. Battery shipments are projected to increase from 88 gigawatt-hours (GWh) last year to 485 GWh in 2030 and 976 GWh in 2035.