What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Friday, November 5,
2010
Governor: LG Chem
Plans to Establish New Electrolyte Production Plant in Holland, Bolstering
Michigan’s Battery Supply Chain
The governor today announced that LG Chem, the South
Korea-based advanced battery manufacturer with operations in Michigan, will establish a new electrolyte production
plant in Holland in West
Michigan, expanding the state’s battery supply chain. Today
was the second day of the governor’s three-day investment mission to South
Korea.
The new electrolyte production plant will be located
near LG Chem’s $303 million battery cell plant in Holland which is under construction. The
electrolyte plant is in the design stage and the project will be presented to LG
Chem’s board in the weeks to come.
On Saturday, the governor will meet with executives from
SB LiMotive, the lithium-ion battery company that is a joint venture between
Samsung and Bosch. SB LiMotive recently purchased Cobasys, a nickel metal
hydride battery firm based in Orion. The governor previously met with
officials to push for Cobasys R&D operations to remain in Michigan long-term and for Michigan to serve as the launch pad for SB LiMotive’s
U.S. operations. She also will
meet with executives from W-Scope, a firm that provides separator material for
the battery industry.
Key
messages:
- LG Chem formulates
its own electrolyte, a key component of battery production. We
appreciate LG Chem CEO Peter Kim’s assertion that the company intends to make
this key component in Michigan.
- Today’s
announcement sends a strong signal about the market potential for electric
vehicles, and reaffirms LG Chem’s commitment to our
state.
- LG Chem has served
as a focal point for the research, design, engineering and packaging of
lithium-ion batteries for mass global production. We’re thrilled that LG
Chem has chosen to be an anchor in Michigan’s advanced battery sector, and we
look forward to our continued partnership with the
company.
- This trip to
South
Korea is the governor’s 12th and likely final
overseas investment mission since 2004. Her previous missions to
Austria,
Belgium,
France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan and Sweden have resulted in 49 companies announcing
nearly $2 billion in new investment in Michigan and more than 20,000 new or
retained jobs.
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