April 19, 2021: -General Motors and South Korea’s LG Chem will invest over $2.3 billion in a second U.S. battery cell plant for electric vehicles in Tennessee, the companies said on Friday.

The plant for their Ultium Cells LLC joint venture will support the production of GM’s coming Cadillac Lyriq crossover and other EVs at an assembly plant. The supply and production of battery cells are critical for automakers pivoting to electric vehicles. While its first is still under construction in Lordstown, Ohio, the joint venture for the new plant underscores that.

Construction on the 2.8 million-square-foot facility will start immediately. The plant is scheduled to open in 2023 and will create 1,300 jobs, the companies said. “The addition of our second all-new Ultium battery cell plant in the U.S. with our joint venture partner LG Energy Solution is another major step in our transition to an all-electric future,” GM CEO Mary Barra said.

It was announced between a 100-day review asked to do by Joe Biden of the U.S. supply chain for advanced batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and semiconductors. He called the study between an ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips that have significantly impacted U.S. auto production in 2021.

GM confirmed last month that it evaluated a second location in the U.S. to produce battery cells for electric vehicles with LG. reported details of Reuters’ announcement on Wednesday.

LG Energy Solution President and CEO Jong Hyun Kim said the new facility would permit the companies “to build solid and stable supply chains of U.S. that enable things from research, product development, and production to the procurement of raw components.”

Ultrium is GM’s next-generation batteries and platform, which are expected to debut this year in the GMC Hummer EV pickup. The first vehicles are not likely to include Ultium battery cells from the Ohio plant under construction.

GM is expected to continue building or converting plants to battery facilities in the U.S. as it moves to become an automaker that exclusively offers electric vehicles by the year 2035. Including 30 new EVs by 2025 under a $27 billion investment plant in electric and autonomous cars during that time frame.