Gov. Lee, Ultium Cells To Announce $2.2B Electric Battery Factory

By Nate Rau, Tennessee Lookout

April 2, 2021

Ultium Cells is planning to invest approximately $2.2 billion for a new electric batteries factory in Spring Hill as part of a massive economic development project to be announced by Gov. Bill Lee’s administration in the coming weeks.

The project will attract 1,300 jobs and put Tennessee firmly in the midst of General Motors’ ambitious investment in electric cars. Ultium Cells is a joint venture between GM and LG Chem, which also recently completed a factory in Ohio.

The project is Lee’s biggest economic development deal to date. Details of the state’s incentive package have not been revealed. A spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development did not respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesman for Lee.
According to its website, Ultium Cells “is focused on the future of the transportation industry and its impact on the world, both culturally and environmentally. Battery cells are an important step away from fossil fuels, but they also have the potential to revolutionize passenger vehicles as fundamentally as the internal combustion engine did all those years ago.”

The company touts that it manufactures its “battery cells in cutting-edge facilities where quality and safety are the top priorities.”

The Detroit Free Press reported last month the new factory will be 2.8 million square feet.
GM already builds Cadillac vehicles at its plant in Spring Hill.

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