Construction at the new GM Ultium Cells battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee reached a new milestone recently, with GM announcing that the facility just passed its one millionth construction hour. When completed, the new GM Ultium Cells battery plant will span some 2.8 million square-foot facility and create over 1,300 new high-tech jobs in the region.
The one-millionth construction hour milestone was reached just over one year since construction began. The facility will go online with the production team next year (late 2023 opening), with process equipment installation slated to begin next month. The new facility will produce batteries for a variety of GM Ultium-based vehicles, including the Cadillac Lyriq luxury crossover.
The new Ultium battery plant in Spring Hill isn’t the only GM battery plant in the news lately. As GM Authority covered earlier this month, production is now under way at the new GM Ultium Cells plant in Warren, Ohio, with an estimated 800 workers currently onsite. With the expanded battery production capacity, GM will be able to ramp up production of all-electric models like the GMC Hummer EV off-roader and Cadillac Lyriq crossover, as well as the BrightDrop Zevo 600 and Zevo 400 all-electric delivery vans.
More recently, it was reported that Ultium workers at the facility in Warren are seeking representation with the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union, urging Ultium Cells to recognize the UAW as the workers’ bargaining agent by voting in favor of a strike recognition measure.
An additional battery production sites is under construction in Lansing, Michigan, while a site in New Carlisle, Indiana should soon be confirmed as the fourth North American battery manufacturing plant. An Ultium Cells facility is currently operational in Shanghai, as well.
For those readers who may be unaware, Ultium cells is a joint venture established between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, which aims to provide upwards of 1 million units of battery production capacity in North America by 2025.
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Comments
I am glad to see new factories being built in the US, but good luck getting them up to capacity with low adoption rates for EV’s in most of the country.
According to friends and the union. GM workers won’t even be allowed in the building .
How does that work? Robots?
Ah, the old “people are saying” trick. A friend told you, so it must be true….
Yeah – why should someone who is not an employee of the entity (and whose work assignment is *NOT* there) be allowed in the building? Such a person can insist on nothing further than any other member of the general public. I’m sure there are ‘trade secrets’ agreements signed by the company’s employees there, which have *NOT* been signed by anyone else.
Doesn’t anyone here watch Perry Mason?
“According to friends and the union”
What are the sources for such comments? As for the unions: that’s scare tactics.
Wonder why GM did not specify rooftop skylights on this plant. Rooftop skylights are popular in “Green” industrial and commercial facilities. Big savings on daytime lighting costs and helps worker comfort levels rather than being sequestered in a windowless zone all day long.
Walmart did an extensive cost / benefit study on skylights for their stores and warehouses and found that skylights are beneficial in terms of natural lighting, electrical cost savings and creates a favorable interior environment.
The Germans are also huge on skylights in their industrial and commercial facilities.
That is a fair question. Now that you mention it, I – a retired lighting engineer – wonder the same thing.
In this climate more dollars are spent on cooling than heating so skylights are really not an issue .
The new GM Museum. This is dead before it gets started.
Gotta love all the nay sayers. Same thing happened when automobiles replaced horses. I’m a long time lover of gas powered cars, when I test drove a Tesla I was sold. We really enjoy driving and owning our Tesla. GM is doing the right thing. Let’s face it, oil is a finite resource. Becoming more difficult to extract and often comes from countries that are unfriendly to the USA. Add the environmental issues related to gas automobiles and it’s a no brainier. We must start the process of moving to EV’s. Not going to be quick, easy or cheap but America can do it. We once dominated automobile production and can do it again. Keep building gas vehicles for those that want and need them while building affordable, great EV’s for Americans in the market. Pulling for GM, Ford, Tesla and all manufacturers building a future in the USA.
Scottt:
Your points are well taken. However, I beg to differ with you on oil becoming more difficult to extract. Deepwater offshore drilling and production technology is now bringing in wells that are amazing producers. Tens of thousands of barrels per day per well. Production platforms that tie in several deep offshore wells that bring in 100 to 200K + barrels per day.
Big Oil is now centered on deepwater offshore outer continental shelf.
I worked for Kerr-McGee before they sold out to Anadarko and then Anadarko was acquired by Occidental. Now Warren Buffet has purchased 50% of Occidental. A great play since Occidental’s positions are deepwater offshore, South China Sea, etc.
Most of the world hates the United States for one reason or the other. So Deepwater offshore has an advantage with the protection of the US Navy since our navy currently is the most powerful on earth.
Buffet is a very savvy player. He purchased Flying J and Pilot truck stops because Class 8 on highway trucks will always be fueled by diesel as with his BNSF railroad locomotives. Buffet is also the largest owner of railroad tank cars in North America and he also owns the Kern River pipeline from Wyoming to California.
IC is not going away. Cummins is currently screaming with success. GM going all in with EV’s is scary. Ford and Toyota are hanging loose. We are in very tumultuous times. There is a place and time for EV’s in certain applications. Texas tea and King Coal will always be with us big time. I should write for the WSJ.
David
Appreciate your response and information. My concern is not currently driven by our ability to access oil, more by the byproducts of fracking, occasional oil leaks in the ocean, along with many negatives converting oil into gas. Burning gas in our automobiles is also a big problem. As I stated, not saying I want all oil production to stop, not saying gas cars should be banned or anything like that. Just time to start the change. I’m also convinced that more people will want electric vehicles once they experience the advantages. They have great performance, cost very little to operate and maintain. Generally, last much longer. We have loved our Tesla ownership experience. Would I love to own a new C8 Corvette too? Absolutely!
If our country consumed 50 percent less oil it would benefit our national security, result in cleaner air, benefit consumers by extending the years our country would be energy independent, even allowing us to sell to friendly nations. Win, win. Electric vehicles are far more energy efficient, greater performance at a lower cost, lower maintenance, last longer, they simply make sense if you currently have a place to charge using your local utility rates. Getting up to a full charge every morning is wonderful. Those with solar have it even better.
Wait until your power is out in the sizzling summer heat or during the bone chilling winter because the grid can’t support the extra draw of multiple electric vehicles being charged and then we’ll see there are rocks in the water that we better know the location of before we dive in.
The future is exciting and the EV Revolution is a wonderful thing but we need to be sure we know what we are doing before it’s too late. Sound familiar?