Ultium Cells, the battery manufacturing joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors, will begin producing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant in the second quarter of 2026, following a US$70 million retooling investment. The cells will be supplied to LG Energy Solution Vertech (LGES) for grid scale storage, renewable energy linked projects and data centre applications in North America.
The move is less about LFP itself than the speed of the pivot. ESS News has been reporting for months on battery makers redirecting North American capacity toward LFP-based storage as EV demand cools and stationary demand keeps building, including by car giants Stellantis at Windsor in Canada (where LGES is a JV partner) and Ford at plants in Kentucky and Michigan (LGES is not involved).
In Tennessee, Ultium said the 700 employees furloughed in January are now returning by April to support the launch of the new line. The facility had previously produced nickel based cells for electric vehicles.
In terms of costs, Bloomberg reported that the retooling will cost “tens of millions” of dollars, with Ultium vice president of operations Tom Gallagher saying the joint venture was able to shift the capacity “in rapid short order” and while acknowledging the cost.
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