LG’s $2 Billion Battery Plant in Lansing Now Building Cells
LG Energy Solution has commenced production at its $2 billion Lansing facility, originally conceived as a GM joint venture before GM sold its stake in December 2024. Located in Michigan, the site, partially funded with state money, was designed by GM and initially intended to produce cells for both cars and grid storage.
August 18, 2026 – 10:21 pm
Credit: Strubbl
While the original plan was a $2.6 billion Ultium Cells joint venture, GM sold its share and dropped its plans to build electric cars in Lansing. The state funding and the building were transferred to LG, while GM has since invested $900 million in its own chemistry elsewhere.
This week, a new business commenced operations on the 226-acre site. Over $2 billion has been invested since 2022, with 900 employees currently working there. Production is expected to reach 35 GWh annually at full scale, with up to 1,700 staff.
Toyota is the primary automotive customer, supplying nickel manganese cobalt cells for the 2027 Highlander EV. Meanwhile, the rest of the building is dedicated to grid storage, producing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells for utilities like DTE Energy and Consumers Energy.
Tesla is a significant customer, with LG signing a $4.3 billion agreement to supply LFP prismatic cells for the Megapack 3. Dedicated lines at Lansing are scheduled to begin production in 2027.
This shift towards grid storage is a growing trend, with Honda also making batteries for data centers at a former electric car plant. LG’s targets indicate a significant expansion of LFP capacity, with over 50 GWh expected across five North American sites by year-end, primarily located in the U.S.
The subsidy story highlights the ironic outcome: Michigan funds cell plants, but the resulting products end up supporting Toyota and Tesla operations elsewhere.
Darius Popa, a technology enthusiast and intern at The Next Web, contributed to this report, examining the evolving narrative of technology and its global impact.