LG Energy Solution began to mass produce LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate, LiFePO4) batteries for ESS (Energy Storage System) at its Holland plant in Michigan, the United States, the company said on June 1.
The product, the Long Cell based pouch-type LFP battery for ESS, boasts of energy efficiency, excellent safety and price competitiveness.
Its major buyers, such as Terra-Gen and Delta, have already been confirmed.
The mass production has ramped up LG Energy Solution’s local production capabilities in the North American region.
Stable product supply and swift field support have been enabled for local major clients. The product has managed to secure excellent price competitiveness compared to its rivals, since it is not affected by tariffs.
LG Energy Solution is the sole company in operation that can mass-produce LFP batteries for ESS among major global battery makers in the United States.
Early this year, LG Energy Solution said that if the expansion of infrastructure, such as power-gulfing data centers, caused by widening AI applications is in a full swing, it is forecast to bring about a steady rise in total power consumption.
As the share of renewable energies is growing remarkably, the company said ESS demand is predicted to grow five-fold over the next decade.
An LG Energy Solution official said, “We are holding talks on the supply of ESS batteries with a couple of customers in North America, and LG Energy Solution will spearhead realizing customer values based on top technology power and swift local response.”
Rebalancing Strategies Pay Off
The mass production is owed to great achievements of “strategic rebalancing” LG Energy Solution has been implementing.
The company has aggressively been implementing strategic rebalancing to raise investment efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs amid external management uncertainties, such as temporarily declining global EV market and policy change of major countries, such as tariffs.
LG Energy Solution originally planned to build a new plant capable of producing LFP batteries for ESS in Arizona, the United States and begin mass production in 2026. But the company quickly changed part of the EV battery plant in Holland into an ESS battery production line and optimized equipment, advancing mass production earlier than initially planned.
U.S.-based mass production competitiveness is expected to serve as a foothold to ramp up LG Energy Solution’s position in there.
The company plans to move nimbly to meet surging ESS demand in a variety of industries, such as AI data centers and eco-friendly energy sectors based on strategic local production foundation.
Market survey firms like SNE Research predicted that the global outlook of the Lib ESS market will jump to about 1,232GWh by 2035, over six times more than 2023 when it stood at about 185GWh.
“We are proud to partner with LG Energy Solution to advance the battery recycling infrastructure in North America,” said Masaharu Katayama, COO of Toyota Tsusho.
“This joint venture is a significant step toward realizing a circular economy for batteries, which is essential for building a sustainable mobility society.”
LG Energy Solution and Toyota Tsusho Establish a Battery Recycling Joint Venture in the US
LG Energy Solution and Toyota Tsusho Corporation on June 19 announced the establishment of Green Metals Battery Innovations, LLC, a joint venture company focused on battery recycling.
Under the agreement signed by LG Energy Solution Michigan and Toyota Tsusho America, the two partners decided to construct and operate a pre-processing plant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The new plant will handle pre-processing operations to extract black mass, which contains valuable raw metals such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, by dismantling and shredding battery production scrap.
In the initial stage of the joint venture’s operation, LG Energy Solution will supply scrap generated during the production of EV batteries for Toyota Motor.
The facility is scheduled to commence operations in 2026, with an objective to achieve maximum annual processing capacity of 13,500 tons of scrap, equivalent to over 40,000 automotive batteries.
The extracted black mass will later undergo a separate post-processing stage to recover raw materials contained within.
The joint venture seeks to further establish a battery-to-battery closed-loop system where those raw materials are circulated as recycled resources for new battery materials, advancing a true circular economy in the battery supply chain.
This collaboration between LG Energy Solution and the Toyota Group aims to drive carbon emissions down through circular economy initiatives.
By partnering with a leading battery recycler equipped with advanced pre-processing technologies and operational know-how, LG Energy Solution intends to secure a competitive recycling infrastructure in the region.
“This joint venture will not only help secure a stable supply of key battery materials but also enhance the competitiveness of our recycling business in North America,” said Chang Beom Kang, CSO of LG Energy Solution.
“We are fully committed to leading the recycling market through innovative and differentiated technologies.”
