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Dive brief:
- LG Energy Solution has temporarily shut down a portion of its $5.5 billion battery manufacturing complex in Queen Creek, Arizona, according to a company statement shared with Construction Dive.
- The $5.5 billion complex consists of two manufacturing facilities: a stand-alone cylinder plant and an energy storage systems battery plant. LG confirmed that only the ESS battery facility will be put on hold, while construction of its electric vehicle cylindrical battery facility will continue as planned.
- “LG Energy Solution is adjusting the execution pace of planned investment efficiently and flexibly according to market conditions,” the company’s global communications team said in the statement. “We still believe the facility will play an important role in our North American operations as we expect continued growth in the US ESS market.”
Diving knowledge:
The city of Queen Creek noted in a statement to Construction Dive that the project had previously been put in place hiatus in 2022 due to the rising costs of inflation. Yates Construction, the development’s general contractor, based in Philadelphia, Mississippi, resumed construction in 2023.
“Construction delays and changes in the project schedule are not uncommon, especially for projects of this scale,” Queen Creek said in the statement. “The city and county remain committed to the Advanced Manufacturing Corridor and continued collaboration with LGES.”
The ESS battery installation, the stalled part of the project, will be one of the first ESS exclusives battery production facilities in the world, according to LG. The facility will produce lithium iron phosphate pouch batteries for energy storage systems.
These batteries allow homeowners to store the energy generated by their solar panels and use it when the sun goes down. This stored energy can also be used during a power outage, when the solar panels are shut down for safety reasons.
The cylindrical battery plant, on the other hand, will produce series 46 batteries for electric vehicles. LG hopes that this part of the $5.5 billion project will be completed by the end of 2025, according to the company.
