Honda confirms Ohio as EV battery plant location

American Honda Motor Co., based in Marysville, Ohio, and LG Energy Solution have announced their new joint venture (JV) electric vehicle (EV) battery plant will be located in Fayette County, Ohio, about 40 miles southwest of Columbus. The two companies say they will “commit to investing $3.5 billion and creating 2,200 jobs, pending final government approvals,” while the companies’ overall investment related to the JV could reach $4.4 billion.

When the project was announced in late August, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine indicated his administration was negotiating with American Honda to site the facility in the Buckeye State. The Honda-LG announcement comes on the heels of one made several days earlier that will result in Taiwan-based Foxconn helping to assemble INDI One EVs at its Lordstown, Ohio, plant.

The JV between Honda and LG, based in South Korea, will be “formally established” by the end of this year, the companies say, and involves plans to begin construction in Ohio in early 2023 to complete the new facility by the end of 2024. The plant will be involved in “mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries by the end of 2025,” Honda adds.

Honda already has announced plans to begin the production and sale of Honda EVs in North America in 2026. The EV batteries to be produced in Ohio will be provided to Honda auto plants to produce EVs to be sold in North America.

While EV pioneer Tesla focused its production and assembly efforts initially in California, and then Nevada and Texas, older automakers including General Motors, Ford and now Honda have been investing in the eastern U.S., while Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) is partnering with LG on a battery production facility in Ontario.

“This is a very challenging time for our entire industry, but also a very exciting time as Honda invests in full electric vehicle production in the Buckeye State,” says Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. “Honda has built hybrid-electric vehicles in Ohio for a number of years, and the experience and expertise of our associates in manufacturing, product development, and purchasing will serve as an important foundation as we transition to the electrified future.”

“In another major step toward electrification, LG Energy Solution’s innovative battery technologies will not only power Honda’s brand-new EV models but support Ohio’s green economy,” says Dong-Myung Kim, executive vice president at LG Energy Solution. “With our commitment to building the world-best quality products, together with Honda, we look forward to not only creating thousands of quality jobs here in Ohio, but growing together with the community. We extend our gratitude to everyone who played a role in making this happen.”

Separately, Honda also has announced a $700 million package of investments “to retool several of its existing auto and powertrain plants” in Ohio to prepare them for the future production of EVs.

As part of a stated goal to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050, Japan-based Honda announced a vision to make battery-electric and fuel cell EVs represent 100 percent of its global vehicle sales by 2040.