Plant Construction to Start Next Year
A joint venture battery plant between LG Energy Solution and Japanese automaker Honda, which is to be built in Ohio of the United States, will receive an incentive worth 200 billion won from the U.S. state government.
The government of the U.S. state of Ohio has decided to provide a tax benefit worth US$71.3 million (about 101.8 billion won) to the joint battery factory. Ohio plans to provide the joint venture with incentives totaling US$156 million including tax breaks.
LG Energy Solution and Honda plan to invest US$3.5 billion to build the joint battery plant in Ohio. The plant's battery production capacity is 40 GWh, which is enough to power 500,000 electric vehicles. Incentives will be given to this battery plant only when conditions, such as the number of locally hired workers and average wages, are met. The two companies agreed to employ about 2,200 people at the battery plant.
LG Energy Solution and Honda will start the construction of the joint venture plant early next year and start producing pouch-type batteries beginning from the end of 2025. Ohio was selected as the site for the plant now that the US state is home to Honda’s American plant. Honda has decided to invest US$700 million to convert its Ohio internal combustion engine-powered car plant into an electric car plant. Honda will start producing and selling electric vehicles in North America in 2026.