GM says it has enough EV battery raw materials to hit 2025 production target
Jordyn Grzelewski
The Detroit News
General Motors Co. now has deals in place to source all of the raw materials it needs for the electric-vehicle batteries to meet a 2025 goal of having 1 million units of annual EV capacity in North America, the Detroit automaker said.
In releasing its second-quarter earnings results Tuesday, GM announced three new binding supply agreements as the automaker — along with some of its competitors — increasingly moves to localize its supply chains for EV components and raw materials.
The first of the new agreements is with LG Chem, which will supply GM with 968,000 tons of cathode active material, or CAM, through 2030. That's enough to support production of roughly 5 million EVs, GM said.
The CAM supply outlined in the agreement will go to plants in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan operated by Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solutions. The first of the Ultium Cells plants, located in Warren, Ohio, is slated to come online in August.
The cathode materials LG Chem will supply include nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum. The materials will be used to make battery cells for EVs built on GM's proprietary Ultium platform.
GM and LG Chem also said they will "explore" establishing a CAM plant in North America by the end of 2025.
“This agreement builds on GM’s commitment to create a strong, sustainable battery raw material supply chain to support our fast-growing EV production needs,” Jeff Morrison, GM's vice president of global purchasing and supply chain, said in a statement.