In Indiana, GM and LG Energy Solution are considering a fourth U.S. battery plant

According to a joint venture spokesperson on Thursday, General Motors Co and LG Energy Solution are investigating an Indiana location for a fourth U.S. battery cell production factory.

Ultium Cells LLC "is building a compelling business case for a possible major investment in New Carlisle, Indiana," she said, adding that Ultium has submitted a tax abatement application that it expects to be approved by the end of the month.

This month, Ultium's first U.S. battery cell manufacturing facility will open in Warren, Ohio. The companies announced the $2.3 billion project in 2019.

A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that the fourth facility is expected to be identical to the three others and to cost more than $2 billion, but its launching date is unknown.

In January, GM and LG announced a $2.6 billion investment to build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in Lansing, Michigan. The plant is scheduled to open in late 2024. GM also announced at the time that it would invest $4 billion to rebuild and expand an assembly plant near Detroit in order to produce electric pickup trucks that would be powered by batteries produced at the Lansing battery plant.

Additionally, GM and LG Energy are building a $2.3 billion facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

The U.S. Energy Department stated last month that it will lend $2.5 billion to Ultium to help finance the construction of manufacturing facilities for battery cells in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan.

Last month, GM stated that it had struck multi-year agreements with LG Chem Ltd and Livent (NYSE:LTHM) Corp to source the necessary raw materials for the production of electric vehicle batteries. GM announced it was on schedule to achieve its goal of producing one million electrified vehicles annually in North America by the end of 2025.

Stellantis NV, Chrysler's parent company, and Samsung (KS:005930) SDI announced in May that they will invest over $2.5 billion to build a new joint venture battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana.

The law signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday imposes extra sourcing standards for battery components and critical minerals beginning on January 1 for electric vehicles to qualify for $7,500 tax credits.

Biden hopes that by 2030, fifty percent of all automobiles produced in the United States will be electric or plug-in electric.