South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor and battery company LG Energy Solution have committed another US$2 billion to their joint battery cell manufacturing facility in Georgia, the US.
Hyundai broke ground on its Metaplant in Bryan County, Georgia, last October. In May 2023, the automaker signed a memorandum of understanding with LGES, making the latter a partner for the onsite battery cell manufacturing joint venture.
According to an announcement, the additional US$2 billion will raise the joint venture's total investment value to more than US$4.3 billion and create another 400 new jobs.
Hyundai said with additional investment from the JV, the EV manufacturing facility and the battery JV represent an estimated US$7.59 billion in capital investment and will create 8,500 new jobs for the region over the next eight years.
According to Hyundai, the battery cell manufacturing facility will have an annual production capacity of 30GWh at full operations, which can support 300,000 EVs. Hyundai Mobis will use cells produced at the plant to assemble battery packs, supplying them to Hyundai Motor Group's production sites in the US to power Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs, Hyundai said.
The Metaplant will be essential for Hyundai models to be eligible for the EV tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Law.
The Georgia State Government said the state has attracted more than US$25 billion in EV-related investment since 2018 as the market keeps growing in the US. The state government added that battery-related projects accounted for at least US$11 billion in the investment.
