At a recent event attended by local officials and representatives of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the South Korean battery manufacturer said construction of its $5.5 billion facility in Queen Creek has passed the halfway mark.
“Construction of the Arizona cylindrical battery plant is more than 50 percent complete,” said Ra Hee-Kwan, president of LG Energy Solution Arizona. “We’re on track to begin limited production next year, with full-scale manufacturing to follow by year-end.”
The Queen Creek site will produce 46-series cylindrical batteries — an increasingly in-demand format favored by automakers — for electric vehicle manufacturers including Tesla and Rivian Automotive. The company is also exploring additional supply agreements to meet growing demand for U.S.-made batteries.
The Arizona project is a key component of LG Energy Solution’s broader push into the American market, which includes seven facilities currently operational or under construction across the country. The company expects the new plant to create approximately 1,500 jobs by 2027.
The expansion comes as LG Energy Solution reports robust financial performance, buoyed in part by U.S. government incentives. On Monday, the company posted an operating profit of 374.7 billion won, or about $256 million, for the first quarter — an increase of more than 138 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The gains were driven largely by federal tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. The company received roughly 457.7 billion won ($312 million) in Advanced Manufacturing Production Credits, up 21 percent from the previous quarter, according to a regulatory filing.
Beyond its U.S. investments, LG Energy Solution is also enhancing its global manufacturing capacity.
The company is expanding energy storage system production at its facilities in Holland, Mich., and Wroclaw, Poland. It has also recently acquired buildings in Michigan for Ultium Cells LLC, its joint venture with General Motors.
reporter
Kim Dong-young
davekim0807@ajupress.com
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