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South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution has suggested building a factory in the U.S. state of Georgia to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, an LG Energy Solution official said Saturday.
In a letter to U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, Kim Jong-hyun, CEO of LG Energy Solution, said that “the company is willing to do anything we can to help the people and workers of Georgia,” according to The Atlanta Journal -Constitution.
LG Chem’s full battery division, LG Energy Solution, confirmed that the company recently sent the letter to the senator, but declined to confirm the details.
Kim also said in the letter that if a foreign investor acquires a separate SK Innovation plant in Georgia, LG could work with it to manage the facility, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
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“(The letter) was intended to clearly address the current situation caused by SK’s misuse of our trade secrets, as well as to alleviate concerns about work in Georgia,” an LG Energy Solution official said in a statement. told Reuters.
An SK Innovation official rejects the idea of LG taking over its plant.
“LG’s statement regarding the acquisition of the plant makes no sense, as car manufacturers do not allow contracts and suppliers to change in a separate way. With that said, it is unreasonable for LG to say that it could take over the plant and replace us, “the official told Reuters.
LG’s letter comes when Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp on Friday reiterated his request that US President Joe Biden’s ruling by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) against SK Innovation to save thousands of jobs in the state be directly linked to SK ‘s battery factory. .
South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution has suggested building a factory in the US state of Georgia to build batteries for electric vehicles. (iStock)
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LG Energy Solution was in a legal dispute with SK Innovation over allegations that SK stole trade secrets. The ITC sided with LG Chem in February and issued a ten-year order banning most U.S. imports of SK lithium-ion batteries.
SK Innovation campaigned for the White House to reverse the decision, which could also be denied if SK and LG reached an independent settlement.
LG announced on Thursday its plans to invest more than $ 4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business over the next four years, including plans to build at least two new plants.