By Kwanwoo Jun


LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Friday that it will build a 7.2 trillion won ($5.60 billion) battery-production complex in the U.S. to meet growing demand for electric vehicles.

The complex, to be built in Queen Creek, Arizona, will have two separate manufacturing facilities: one to make cylindrical batteries for EVs and the other to produce lithium-iron phosphate pouch-type batteries for energy-storage systems, the South Korean company said in a statement.

LG Energy said it plans to invest KRW4.2 trillion in the cylindrical battery facility and KRW3.0 trillion in the LFP battery site.

Cylindrical battery production is expected to start in 2025 and LFP battery production in 2026, the company said.

The complex, LG Energy's seventh production base in North America, will have a combined 43-gigawatt-hour annual output capacity, it said. Of that 27GWh will be for cylindrical batteries and 16GWh for LFP batteries.

The planned investment aims to address surging demand for locally manufactured batteries in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, LG Energy CEO Kwon Young-soo said in the statement.

"We believe it's the right move at the right time in order to empower clean energy transition in the U.S.," Mr. Kwon said.


Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-24-23 0417ET