With the advent of electric vehicles, technology companies have been making a killing. This isn’t true only for the sophisticated software found in EVs, but with the batteries, too. Indeed, battery technology has advanced leaps and bounds over the past few decades. I still remember the time when a small power bank retailed for close to $100. These days, they’re being sold for as low as $30. That said, the same is true for batteries in EVs.
Oftentimes automotive manufacturers won’t bother reinventing the wheel when it comes to batteries. Instead, they turn to experts in the field, most of the time from countries such as Taiwan, China, or South Korea. Honda is no exception, and has recently announced a partnership with South Korean tech company LG for the development of batteries. A new battery manufacturing facility for electric vehicles will be built in the United States with a $4.4 billion investment from Honda Motor and LG Energy Solution.
As the industry seeks to comply with stiffer restrictions and quicken the manufacturing of such zero-emission cars and trucks, the news represents the latest ambitions by automakers to invest in American manufacture of battery cells for electric vehicles. By the end of 2025, according to Honda and LG Energy, mass manufacturing of sophisticated lithium-ion battery cells is anticipated to start at their facility. A joint venture between the corporations, which is anticipated to be launched this year, will construct and manage the facility.
The multibillion-dollar plant's location was not disclosed by Honda or LG Energy Solution, although automakers often situate battery production in close proximity to their assembly lines. There is a good probability that the facility will be located in one of the three states where Honda now has significant manufacturing operations: Ohio, Alabama, or Indiana. In accordance with other automakers' stated plants, the new facility will seek to have an annual output capacity of about 40 gigawatt hours. Accordingly, Honda Japan said that by 2030, it will make around 2 million electric vehicles annually and distribute 30 models internationally.
In the world of two-wheelers, we’ve begun seeing electric scooters from Honda, but not a full-sized electric motorcycle just yet. It’s almost a certainty that Honda and LG’s joint venture for the U.S. will focus primarily on electric cars, as it seems that Honda is prioritizing the Asian market when it comes to electric scooters and motorcycles. That being said, as more and more countries all over the world adopt electric motorcycles and bicycles, it’s just a matter of time until big players like Honda release their own electric motorcycles for the global market.
