Milestone Celebrated Five Years After Joint Venture Announced
WARREN, Ohio– Today, leaders and employees from UItium Cells, LG Energy Solution, General Motors (GM) and the UAW gathered at the Ultium Cells Warren, Ohio facility to celebrate the 100 millionth battery cell produced at the facility and to recognize the work force’s hard work and dedication in reaching this milestone. The Warren celebration took place exactly five years to the day after GM and LG Energy Solution announced plans to create a joint venture to build battery cells in Ohio.
On December 5, 2019, GM and LG Energy Solution announced plans to grow a new industry in the United States and create a joint venture, which would be named Ultium Cells, to build battery cells at a new manufacturing facility in Warren, Ohio. Ground-breaking and construction began on this new facility in early May 2020. Initial battery cell production started in August 2022. The Warren facility has approximately 2,200 employees.
The battery cells manufactured by Ultium Cells are large format, pouch-type cells that use a state-of-the-art nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum (“NCMA”) chemistry to deliver more range at less cost. Laid end-to-end, the 100 million battery cells produced by Ultium Cells Warren would circle the equator nearly 1.5 times.
“As the largest battery cell manufacturer operating in North America, this milestone at our Ultium Cells joint venture with GM represents our commitment to scaling zero emissions power across a variety of industries, from EVs to Energy Storage Solutions,” said David Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution. “We’re committed to electrifying more energy sources and to creating jobs in the state of Ohio.”
“The work being done here at Ultium Cells Warren is critical to the future of transportation and to General Motors’ efforts to drive the industry forward,” said JP Clausen, GM’s executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability. “The Ultium Cells joint venture blends the best of technology and manufacturing processes with a talented workforce – establishing an industry benchmark in cell production. Building on these achievements, we’re excited to expand our technology partnership with LG Energy Solution to collaborate on new and innovative technologies including our agreement to jointly develop cost competitive prismatic battery cells.”
The 2.8 million sq. ft. Warren facility, which is equivalent to the size of 30 U.S. football fields, supplies battery cells to various GM EV assembly plants throughout North America, using the most advanced and efficient battery cell manufacturing processes to date. GM continues to launch and ramp up production of EVs that utilize battery cells built by Ultium Cells.
“I want to thank each and every member of the Ultium Cells Warren team for their daily commitment to building a safe workplace, building high quality products and working to meet GM’s EV production schedules,” said Kee Eun, CEO of Ultium Cells. “Only through a continued focus on teamwork and dedication to building quality products will we have the opportunity to build our future together.”
“On behalf of UAW Local 1112 leadership, I am proud to represent the hard-working men and women of Ultium Cells Warren, because without them this milestone and celebration would not be possible, “said Josh Ayers, shop chairperson of UAW Local 1112. “The jobs here are important for Warren and the Mahoning Valley, and this milestone shows what we can do when given an opportunity to highlight our tremendous manufacturing capabilities. We look forward to reaching many more milestones here in Warren while building a future that offers work opportunities with good pay and benefits and support the local communities where we live.”
In addition to reaching the production milestone, the Ultium Cells Warren team is also proud of the investment of both time and money to support the surrounding communities. This work includes:
- Partnering with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife and The Stream + Wetlands Foundation to restore a 172-acre wildlife habitat right outside the Warren location.
- Participating in various community advancement activities such as assisting Habitat for Humanity launch a regional location.
- Working alongside OH WOW! to educate and mentor underrepresented youth on STEM education.
- Engaging in volunteer activities with United Way, including painting local homes, landscape work throughout the community and reading to children at various schools.
- Donating over $25,000 to the Joanie Abdu Breast Care Center in Youngstown, Ohio.
Ultium Cells is a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution that mass-produces battery cells to advance the push for a zero-emissions, all-electric future. Ultium Cells provides battery cell capacity to support GM's North American electric vehicle assembly capacity, while supporting GM’s plans to supply other automotive companies and other industries including rail, aerospace, heavy trucking and marine customers. For more information about Ultium Cells, please visit www.ultiumcell.com.