South Korean manufacturers Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solutions announced Friday a $4.3 billion joint venture to build an electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing plant on the Mega-Site in Black Creek adjacent to Hyundai Metaplant America.
Construction is slated to begin on the EV battery cell plant later in 2023 and production is set to start in 2025 at the earliest. It’s expected to create 3,000 jobs, according to the announcement.
In an early morning press conference announcing the partnership, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff heralded the decision by the companies to locate the plant in Bryan County, calling it a result of manufacturing incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act. He cited a recent trade mission to South Korea as well as negotiations between the companies and U.S. representatives as playing a key role in the joint venture.
The incentives are “continuing to attract billions of dollars of investment to the state and across the country,” and are building industrial capacity in the manufacturing of electric vehicles, electric vehicle batteries, and solar and wind technologies, Ossoff said, adding the company will be eligible for certain U.S. tax breaks once it begins making the cars in the U.S.
Hyundai is currently scheduled to begin manufacturing the vehicles in 2025.
Bryan County Commission Chairman Carter Infinger welcomed LG Energy Solution to the county.
“Today Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution announced they would be partnering together on the joint venture battery manufacturing facility that was announced by Hyundai Motor Group on May 20, 2022. We welcome LG Energy Solution to Bryan County and the Savannah region and look forward to working with them and their partners.”
The plant is expected to manufacture some 300,000 vehicles annually. The Hyundai Mobis facility under construction in Richmond Hill is currently scheduled to begin production of power plants for the EVs built in Black Creek at some point in 2024. The $926 million facility at the Belfast Keller Commerce Park near I-95 interchange will bring 1,500 jobs to the area.
Industries tied to the Hyundai Metaplant announcement have added thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in investment Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham counties, which make up the Savannah Harbor Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority. Neighboring counties such as Liberty have also seen investment.
In recent months, the state has announced several Hyundai related projects. On May 23, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Hanon Systems will create 160 jobs and invest more than $40 million in a manufacturing plant in Bulloch County. On April 11, it was announced Seohan Auto Georgia, a parts manufacturer, will set up a $72 million, 180-job manufacturing facility in Liberty County. On March 6, the state announced Hyundai supplier PHA will build a $67 million and create 400 jobs in Chatham County. Also, the state also announced on Feb. 21 that Sewon America would create 740 new jobs in Effingham County while investing $300 million in a manufacturing facility.
Jeff Whitten is editor of the Bryan County News, which, like the Statesboro Herald, is owned by Savannah-based Morris Multimedia.