These batteries will be used in the automaker’s US-built electric vehicles, which will arrive in 2025.
LG will invest in its Michigan factory to add production lines dedicated to Toyota.
These batteries are expected to be part of the automaker’s next generation of Li-Ion Monopolar pack.
Toyota EVs built in the United States will be powered by batteries made by LG in Michigan, according to a new partnership between both companies.
In this agreement, LG Energy Solutions will provide 20 GWh of battery capacity per year to Toyota starting in 2025.
These batteries are expected to be of the upcoming Li-Ion Monopolar type which Toyota said it will use in a recent battery technology roadmap, although the automaker hasn’t confirmed this detail.
According to this roadmap, the Performance version of this upcoming battery technology will be able to provide Toyota EVs with over 800 kilometres of range and fast-charging capabilities that could take the state of charge from 20 to 80% in only 20 minutes.
Construction of the Toyota battery plant in North Carolina | Photo: Toyota
Of course, the advantage of this partnership for Toyota is the possibility of its EVs being eligible for the federal Clean Vehicle tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires electric vehicles to be built in North America and equipped with batteries manufactured either in the U.S. or in a country which has a free trade agreement with the U.S.
In order to make sure it is capable of providing enough batteries to hold up its end of the deal, LG Energy Solutions will invest $3 billion in its Michigan factory, adding new production lines that will be dedicated to batteries destined for Toyota’s Kentucky factory, which will start producing EVs in about two years.
While few details are known about the models that will be equipped with these batteries, Toyota says it will start manufacturing a new three-row electric SUV in Kentucky in 2025, which makes it a likely contender as the first recipient of the LG batteries.
Interestingly, Toyota will not rely solely on LG for the batteries it will use in North America since it is currently building its own battery plant in North Carolina, which should also begin supplying the Kentucky assembly factory in 2025.
Source: InsideEVs
