Honda and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution will spend $4.4 billion to build a new battery plant in the United States as the Japanese carmaker seeks to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles completely by 2040.
The facility will have an annual capacity of about 40 gigawatt-hours with mass production slated to start at the end of 2025, Honda said Monday in a company filing. The duo will set up a joint venture this year in which Honda will hold 49% stake by investing $1.7 billion. Construction is expected to start by early 2023.
The location of the plant is not decided. Bloomberg reported in June that Ohio is a front-runner, and the Japanese firm already has carmaking plants there.