Honda announces new $4.4B Ohio battery plant
President Biden said the plant – a joint venture between Honda and LG Energy Solutions – is 'another win for America'
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Honda Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution on Tuesday announced that a new electric vehicle battery production plant will be built in Ohio.
The companies will invest $3.5 billion and create 2,200 jobs, pending final government approvals. The overall investment by the joint venture is projected to reach $4.4 billion.
The plant will be located in Fayette County, Ohio, about 40 miles south of Columbus.
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"The EV batteries produced at the new JV plant will be used for Honda and Acura vehicles built in Ohio starting in 2026. We plan to begin construction early next year, to complete the new production facility by the end of 2024," Bob Nelson, the executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said at a news conference.
American and Honda Motor Co. flags fly at the Honda Auto Plant in Marysville, Ohio. U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. (Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries is projected by the end of 2025. The batteries at the plant will be provided to Honda auto plants to produce EVs to be sold in North America.
In a speech following Nelson's remarks, Sukwon Choi, the senior managing director at LG Energy Solution, that the joint venture would be important to establishing Ohio as a hub for North America's EV industry.
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FILE PHOTO: An employee walks past the logo of LG Energy Solution at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, November 23, 2021. Picture taken November 23, 2021. (REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters Photos)
In a release, Honda said LG Energy Solution intends to "further expand its production capacity in the region, as well as reinforce its local supply chain for key critical minerals."
Honda will also separately invest $700 million to re-tool several existing plants – Marysville, East Liberty and Anna Engine Plants – for the production of electric vehicles and components.
FILE PHOTO: The Honda Motor logo is pictured at the 43rd Bangkok International Motor Show, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2022. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters Photos)
"This investment will set us on the course for an electrified future for the next 40 years and beyond," he remarked.
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President Biden called the announcement "another win for America and another win for Ohio."
"As I said at the groundbreaking of Intel’s Ohio factory last month: it’s time to bury the label ‘Rust Belt,’" Biden said in a statement. "Just as my CHIPS and Science Act is spurring record investments in communities across the country, my Inflation Reduction Act is driving a manufacturing boom for electric vehicles. This has been the backbone of my economic plan: America is leading the world again, rebuilding our supply chains, infrastructure and manufacturing here at home."