LG Energy Solution announced on the 18th that it will expand its North American energy storage system (ESS) battery production bases to five locations, strengthening its penetration of the local market.

This expansion follows the announcement by Ultium Cells, its joint venture with GM, of a plan to produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for ESS at its Tennessee plant in the United States. LG Energy Solution’s strategy is to use this as a springboard to accelerate its response to the rapidly growing North American ESS market.

Through this plant conversion, LG Energy Solution will secure a total of five ESS production networks in North America. In addition to its existing standalone production bases at the Holland and Lansing plants in Michigan and the NextStar Energy plant in Canada, the company will expand ESS production at the Ultium Cells Tennessee plant and the Honda joint venture plant in Ohio.

The Michigan Holland plant is the first large-scale ESS battery mass production base in North America and has already established a stable production system, supplying major customers. The NextStar Energy plant in Canada has also rapidly stabilized its yield rates from the early stages of operation, boosting production performance in a short period of time.

The Michigan Lansing plant is scheduled to begin mass production of ESS batteries in the first half of this year and plans to sequentially produce pouch-type and prismatic LFP products. In particular, the plant has demonstrated its order-winning competitiveness through a large-scale supply contract with Tesla.

In addition, the joint venture with Honda in Ohio is discussing a plan to convert part of its electric vehicle (EV) battery production lines for ESS use.

LG Energy Solution plans to operate these bases as “multi-production hubs” that manufacture both EV and ESS batteries, thereby maximizing production flexibility. The company expects this will enable it to quickly adjust its production portfolio in line with changes in market demand.

The North American ESS market is growing rapidly due to the expansion of renewable energy and the increase in power demand from AI data centers. In line with this trend, LG Energy Solution is signing supply contracts with major global companies and expanding its order backlog.

LG Energy Solution plans to expand its ESS production capacity to more than 60 GWh globally by the end of this year, increasing the share of North America to over 50 GWh.

An LG Energy Solution official said, “We will accelerate business growth based on the establishment of our five major multi-production hubs in North America,” adding, “Leveraging the production competitiveness secured in the ESS sector, we will further strengthen our solid leading position in the North American market.”

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