The electric vehicle battery industry and its regional presence gained a large boost Monday, when Tennessee officials announced LG Chem’s $3.2 billion, 850-job cathode-manufacturing facility coming to the Clarksville-Montgomery County area.
According to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, the $3.2 billion promise represents the single-largest foreign-direct investment in the state’s history.
Expected to be the largest of its kind in the US, the facility will produce nearly 120,000 tons of cathode material annually by 2027. That’s enough to power batteries in 1.2 million electric vehicles — with an expected range of 310 miles per charge.
Officials noted that the “state-of-the-art” facility will be constructed on 420 acres of the Allensworth site in Clarksville.
Construction will begin in the first quarter of next year, and should be in production by fall 2025.
Founded in 1947, LG Chem is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea — and as of 2021 was maintaining almost 19,000 employees worldwide.
As of 2021, LG Chem had sales north of $37 billion. South Korea also remains one of Tennessee’s top-10 countries for direct foreign investment.
Tennessee’s announcement comes tangentially with Kentucky’s major push in the EV sector, with Christian County officials and Gov. Andy Beshear recently revealing Ascend Elements in Commerce Park II.
