Motivated by tax benefits, established manufacturers have announced large investments in production facilities for electric cars and their components in the USA in recent months. Honda has now announced an investment of around 700 million US dollars to convert three plants, including an "EV hub" in the state of Ohio.

Honda and LG plan billion-dollar cooperation

3.5 billion dollars are also to flow into a new joint venture between Honda and LG Energy Solution, which wants to build a battery cell plant in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. There, pouch cells for electric vehicles from Honda are to be manufactured with an annual volume of 40 gigawatt hours. The announcement, meanwhile, does not change plans to introduce the first electric vehicle in a cooperation with GM, which is scheduled for 2024. A second electric vehicle, developed in-house by Honda and planned for 2026, is to be produced locally in the USA.

"Our Next Energy" confirms location

The BMW-supported US battery start-up company "Our Next Energy" now also has concrete information about the planned production site: The plant, like the company headquarters, is to be built in the state of Michigan. The $1.6 billion commitment is expected to enable production beginning in 2024. From this point onwards, the volume is to be increased continuously until a final annual capacity of 20 gigawatt hours of LFP cells is reached by the end of 2027. In addition to the cells themselves, the production of the required cathode material should also be guaranteed at the site. A lease for a 60,000 square meter building has already been signed.

Sources:

https://www.electrive.net/2022/10/12/our-next-energy-builds-battery-factory-in-michigan/

https://electrek.co/2022/10/11/honda-major-ev-battery-production-investment-us/