LG Chem is planning to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility in Poland to meet growing European demand, reports Reuters. A person familiar with the matter told the news service that the plant would be located in Wroclaw (Poland) and "will be completed in about one-and-a-half years." The person added that it would eventually have a production capacity of 229,000 batteries per year, which would make it the company's second biggest EV battery factory after China. A spokesperson for LG Chem confirmed that it is considering adding further battery production facilities, but that nothing had been decided.
Significance: This is the second time that LG Chem has been linked with production in Poland during the past year, with the timescales mentioned at that point being very similar to those suggested now. LG Chem is one of the top five automotive battery-makers in the world and has production locations in China, South Korea and the US. It supplies around 25 OEMs including Renault, Volkswagen (VW), Audi and Volvo in Europe. If true, the site would make it the first South Korean battery company to set up production of EV batteries in Europe. The additional capacity would support the continued growth in this field, but also help with potential logistics issues related to these components, with regulations making them harder to transport over long distances by air or sea.
