Posted by Kevin Jost | Jan 26, 2022 | Business Development, Electrification, Vehicles
General Motors Co. announced yesterday an investment of more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites—the single largest investment announcement in the company’s history—that significantly increases its battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity. The new resources will be used to convert the assembly plant in Orion Township, MI, for production of the all-electric Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, GM’s second assembly plant scheduled to build full-size electric pickups, and construct a new Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Lansing, MI.
“Today we are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM’s EV leadership by making investments in our vertically integrated battery production in the U.S., and our North American EV production capacity,” said Mary Barra, GM Chair and CEO. “We are building on the positive consumer response and reservations for our recent EV launches and debuts including GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Equinox EV, and Chevrolet Silverado EV. Our plan creates the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership by mid-decade.”
The Orion and Ultium Cells Lansing investments will support an increase in total full-size electric truck production capacity to 600,000 units when Factory ZERO, in Detroit and Hamtramck, MI, and Orion facilities are fully ramped.
The conversion of Orion Assembly will cost $4 billion to produce electric trucks using GM’s Ultium platform. This investment is expected to create more than 2350 new jobs at Orion and retain about 1000 current jobs when the plant is fully operational. The Detroit Free Press estimates that GM employs about 1200 people at Orion Assembly, most of whom are hourly union members.
Electric truck production, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV and electric GMC Sierra, will begin at Orion in 2024. The Orion investment is already driving significant facility and capacity expansion at the site including new body and paint shops and new general assembly and battery pack assembly areas. Production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV will continue there during the plant’s conversion.
GM and LG Energy Solution, via their Ultium Cells joint venture, are investing $2.6 billion to build the JV’s third U.S. battery cell manufacturing plant at the Lansing site, following the two plants being constructed in Ohio and Tennessee. The new investment is expected to create more than 1700 new jobs when the plant is fully operational. Site preparations will begin this summer and battery cell production is scheduled to begin in late 2024. Ultium Cells Lansing will supply battery cells to Orion Assembly and other GM assembly plants.
“With a shared vision, GM and LG Energy Solution pioneered the EV sector by seizing new opportunities in the market well before anyone else did,” said Young-Soo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution. “Our third battery manufacturing plant, fittingly located in America’s automotive heartland, will serve as a gateway to charge thousands and later millions of EVs in the future.”
“This facility will lead us into a new era of manufacturing and sustainability as we push toward a zero-emissions future,” added Kee Eun, Ultium Cells President. “Our job is to ensure flawless execution through close collaboration with our partners and the State of Michigan.”
In addition to the EV-related investments in MI, GM is investing more than $510 million in its two Lansing-area vehicle assembly plants to upgrade their production capabilities for near-term products. The Lansing Delta Township Assembly investment is for the production of the next-generation Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave, with Lansing Grand River Assembly also getting plant upgrades.
GM assembly plants in North America currently building, or being converted to build EVs, include Factory ZERO; Spring Hill Assembly in Spring Hill, TN; CAMI in Ingersoll, Ontario; and Ramos Arizpe Assembly in Mexico. Vertically integrating battery assembly and converting existing assembly plants are at the core of GM’s strategy for scaling EV production in North America. The company projects it will convert 50% of its North American assembly capacity to EV production by 2030.
In addition to adding battery cell and EV assembly capacity, GM is also supporting its drive for EV leadership by quickly working to build a new supply chain via agreements for batteries and other EV components that are expected to be more resilient, more sustainable, and more North American-focused.
December was a big month for strategic supplier agreements.
GM announced a long-term agreement with MP Materials to supply U.S.-sourced and manufactured rare earth materials, alloy, and finished magnets for the electric motors used in the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and more than a dozen models using GM’s Ultium Platform, with a gradual production ramp that begins in 2023.
The company and VAC announced plans for VAC to build a plant in the U.S. that will manufacture permanent magnets for the electric motors in those vehicles. Plans call for the new plant to use locally sourced raw materials.
It also announced plans to form a joint venture with POSCO Chemical to construct a factory in North America to process critical battery materials for GM’s Ultium platform. The joint venture will process CAM (cathode active material), which represents about 40% of the cost of a battery cell. The location of the facility to open in 2024 will be announced later.
In October, GM and GE Renewable Energy announced an MoU to evaluate opportunities to improve supplies of heavy and light rare-earth materials and magnets, copper, and electrical steel used for manufacturing EVs and renewable energy equipment. The initial focus of the collaboration will be on creating a North America- and Europe-based supply chain of vertically integrated magnet manufacturing that both companies will use.
That same month, the automaker and Wolfspeed, Inc. announced a strategic supplier agreement to develop and provide silicon carbide power device solutions for GM’s future EV programs. Wolfspeed’s silicon carbide devices will enable GM to install more efficient EV propulsion systems to extend range. The devices will specifically be used in the integrated power electronics contained within GM’s Ultium Drive units.
In July, GM announced a strategic investment and commercial collaboration with Controlled Thermal Resources to secure local and low-cost lithium—a metal crucial in making more affordable, higher mileage EVs. The material will be produced through a closed-loop, direct extraction process that results in a smaller physical footprint and lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional processes like pit mining or evaporation ponds.
- The new GM investments will support production of full-size electric trucks like this Silverado EV TrailBoss.
- GM’s Chair and CEO Mary Barra announces investment in four Michigan manufacturing sites. (Steve Fecht)
- Lansing will be Ultium Cells’ third battery cell manufacturing plant in the U.S.
- The GMC Hummer EV is being produced at GM’s Factory Zero.
- The Ultium platform under the 2022 GMC Hummer EV is the foundation of GM’s EV strategy.
- The Ultium battery pack being tested here will benefit from GM’s collaboration with Controlled Thermal Resources to secure local and low-cost lithium.
- GM is the foundational automotive customer for a new rare earth magnet manufacturing facility MP Materials will build in Fort Worth, TX.
