General Motors (GM) and LG Chemical announced this week they will build their new electric battery cell plant right next to the old GM Lordstown assembly plant that closed last year.
GM said Tuesday that construction on the new 160-acre plant will start later in 2020. The plant will be built on land GM used to own, but had to surrender when it went bankrupt in 2009, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
The car company has already started the building process by filing permits with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Furthermore, GM is working with the village of Lordstown on “potential incentives” to help finance the building effort, the Business Journal Daily reports.
“It’s the first of many steps,” GM Spokesman Dan Flores told the Columbus Dispatch. “It’s a big step forward and it gets us closer to making this project a reality. This will position the Mahoning Valley to be a major force in battery cell development.”
Back in December these two companies said their $2.3 billion investment in northeast Ohio would create 1,100 new jobs.
“With this investment, Ohio and its highly capable workforce will play a key role in our journey toward a world with zero emissions,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “Combining our manufacturing expertise with LG Chem’s leading battery-cell technology will help accelerate our pursuit of an all-electric future. We look forward to collaborating with LG Chem on future cell technologies that will continue to improve the value we deliver to our customers.”
When this plant opens it expects to be one of the world’s largest battery cell producers.
In the past, Gov. Mike DeWine called this investment “great news for Ohio.”
The old Lordstown assembly plant that shut down last year was sold to an electric car company Workhorse in November.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Star News Digital Media. If you have any tips, email Zachery at [email protected].
