Tesla Rejoices as LG Chem Doubles Battery Production Capacity
Battery manufacturer LG Chem will more than double production capacity at its factories in South Korea and China in 2021, according to a report by Reuters.
The main beneficiary will be Tesla, which plans to ramp up production of electric vehicles in the next few months and years, but currently doesn’t have enough batteries to power them.
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More specifically, the new batteries made by LG Chem will be shipped to Tesla’s assembly plants in Fremont, California and Berlin, Germany. The former builds all four existing products, namely the Model S, 3, X and Y, while the latter will become operational next summer.
“We’re continuing to expand capacity for cylindrical battery cells in response to growing demand from automakers but we can’t comment on specific customers,” a spokesman for LG Chem told Reuters.
It was previously announced that the Korean company will invest over $600 million in the next year to raise annual production capacity of 21700 cylindrical battery cells in Nanjing, China. This will allow the plant to supply batteries for up to 323,000 EVs annually.