News Release Details

GM and POSCO Chemical Will Build a New North America Factory to Process Cathode Active Material for Ultium Batteries
Joint venture will help scale battery cell production as GM targets U.S. EV leadership
GM is launching more than 30 EVs globally by 2025, including the GMC HUMMER EV, the Cadillac LYRIQ and the Chevrolet Silverado EV

DETROIT, Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors (NYSE: GM) and POSCO Chemical today announced plans to form a joint venture through which the parties will construct a factory in North America to process critical battery materials for GM's Ultium electric vehicle platform. The joint venture will process Cathode Active Material (CAM), a key battery material that represents about 40 percent of the cost of a battery cell. The location of the facility, which will create hundreds of jobs when it opens in 2024, will be announced later.

"Our work with POSCO Chemical is a key part of our strategy to rapidly scale U.S. EV production and drive innovation in battery performance, quality and cost," said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "We are building a sustainable and resilient North America-focused supply chain for EVs covering the entire ecosystem from raw materials to battery cell manufacturing and recycling."

"We are very pleased to participate in the global battery supply chain project with General Motors," said Kyungzoon Min, the CEO of POSCO Chemical. "Through close partnership, we will innovate battery materials and contribute to accelerate the adoption of EVs based on our world-class product development, mass production capacity, and raw materials competitiveness."

The new facility will supply the Ultium Cells LLC facilities GM and LG Energy Solution are building in Lordstown, Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Two more U.S.-based Ultium cell plants are planned by mid-decade as GM drives mass adoption of EVs with high-volume Ultium-powered EVs, including a Chevrolet crossover priced around $30,000.

GM and POSCO Chemical have signed a non-binding term sheet to create the joint venture and expect to execute definitive agreements soon.    

GM EV Milestones

  • Invest $35 billion from 2020 to 2025 in electric and autonomous vehicles  
  • Launch more than 30 EVs globally by 2025, with more than two-thirds available in the United States, and earn U.S. market share leadership in EVs
  • Deliver more than 1 million annual global EV sales by 2025
  • Drive first-generation Ultium cell costs 40 percent lower than those used in the Chevrolet Bolt EV; achieve twice the energy density at 60 percent lower cost in the second generation
  • Rapidly scale EV manufacturing, with more than 50 percent of North America and China plants capable of EV production by 2030
  • Double annual revenues from a five-year average of about $140 billion by the end of the decade, expand margins, and grow EV revenue from about $10 billion in 2023 to approximately $90 billion annually by 2030

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which will power everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, CadillacBaojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com. 

POSCO Chemical is a global advanced materials company dedicated to battery for future mobility. It is producing high-capacity Ni-rich cathode materials and low-expansion anode materials for EV batteries, and has a set of technologies such as NCMA cathode, silicon anode and materials for solid-state battery.

POSCO, the parent company of POSCO Chemical, is a global steel maker that has been designated as the "world's most competitive steel company" by World Steel Dynamics (2010-2021). POSCO Group is building a strong value chain across battery business from raw materials to battery recycling. Detailed information can be found on its website (https://www.poscochemical.com).

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are any statements other than statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements represent our current judgment about possible future events and are often identified by words such as "aim," "anticipate," "appears," "approximately," "believe," "continue," "could," "designed," "effect," "estimate," "evaluate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "initiative," "intend," "may," "objective," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "priorities," "project," "pursue," "seek," "should," "target," "when," "will," "would," or the negative of any of those words or similar expressions. In making these statements, we rely upon assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any future events or financial results, and our actual result may differ materially due to a variety of important factors, many of which are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10 Q, and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or other factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where we are expressly required to do so by law.

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SOURCE General Motors Co.

David Caldwell, GM Communications, 586.899.7861, david.caldwell@gm.com