Honda Motor and LG Energy to build electric vehicle battery plant in Ohio

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co plans to build a new lithium-ion battery plant for electric vehicles in the US together with Korean battery supplier LG Energy Solution Ltd, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

Battery makers are looking to boost production in the US, where the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) could increase as the country imposes stricter regulations and tightens tax credit eligibility. The investment is expected to be on the scale of several hundred billion yen, according to the report. Both Honda and LG Energy Solution declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. The US government is pushing policies designed to bring more battery and electric vehicle production to the country. President Joe Biden signed a $430 billion climate, health and tax bill this month that would make electric vehicles assembled outside North America ineligible for tax credits. Last week, California announced a plan to require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to be electric or plug-in electric hybrids. Honda and LG Energy Solution will form a joint venture to start lithium-ion battery production in Ohio, where Honda's main factory is located. According to NikkeiAsia, they aim to start construction in 2023 and mass production in 2025. LG Energy Solution, which is mainly engaged in the development of lithium-ion battery materials and next-generation batteries, also supplies electric vehicle batteries and has signed joint venture agreements with General Motors (NYSE:GM), Hyundai Motor Co and Stellantis. In July, Panasonic (OTC:PCRFY) Energy Co, a unit of technology conglomerate Panasonic Holdings Corp and a major Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc supplier, announced that it had selected Kansas for a new battery plant with an investment of up to $4 billion. Earlier this year, Honda set a goal of launching 30 electric vehicle models worldwide by 2030 and producing around 2 million electric vehicles per year. Follow Global Economic Developments on Social Media! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Facebook account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Instagram account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Twitter account!