In major news from Honda, the company has announced plans to build a massive battery production facility based in the USA with Korean electronics giant, LG Energy Solution, as part of a $4.4-billion investment.
Honda and LG Energy made the announcement earlier this week, and if all goes to plan, construction will kick off in early 2023, with mass production of lithium-ion battery cells set to enter Honda’s supply chain by the end of 2025.
Details of that agreement state that battery packs produced at the facility will be used exclusively for Honda and Acura-branded battery-electric vehicles, although the joint venture is yet to be signed off.
Initial forecasts for the battery plant outline a yearly production capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours, which is the exact same production capacity as another LG joint-venture with automotive giant, Stellantis, that was announced last year.
LG Energy has also signed agreements with General Motors and Hyundai for the production of lithium-ion cells in the USA.
There’s no word just yet on where exactly the battery production facility will be built, but considering Honda has massive production lines based in Ohio, Indiana and Alabama, the company likely has some ideas up its sleeve.
The largest of which is Honda’s Marysville production line, which suggests that a nearby location for its battery facility seems the most logical to keep transport and logistics costs low.
Honda is the latest in a long line of manufacturers that are scaling up their battery production numbers, as lawmakers become increasingly tough on exit dates for the production/sale of internal combustion engines.
The latest example came last week from California, with lawmakers stating that by 2035, all new vehicles on sale will have to come in the form of a plug-in hybrid or battery-electric vehicle.
