General Motors may announce second battery plant in Tennessee

General Motors and South Korean joint-venture partner LG Chem are going to announce a second U.S. battery cell manufacturing plant on Friday, unveiling plans for a $2.3 billion factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee, three people familiar with the matter said according to Reuters report.

The plant will use a different, more cost-effective battery chemistry compared to the one the companies will offer from the joint-venture plant they are constructing in Lordstown, Ohio, the sources said on Wednesday.

The battery will be for the Cadillac Lyriq electric crossover vehicle that the automaker will start building at its nearby Spring Hill assembly plant from 2022, the sources said.

The timing of the Tennessee battery plant’s opening is not clear, but there will be a period when the battery will be provided for the Lyriq by another LG facility until the Tennessee plant starts and it will not come from Lordstown, according to a source.

GM has not confirmed this report.