Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) has announced plans to construct an EV battery cell production factory in Bartow County, Georgia. The new facility will be a joint venture with South Korean battery manufacturer SK On intended to support HMG’s future EV production plans.
The joint venture is intended to provide a stable supply of batteries for EV production in the U.S. beginning in the second half of 2025.
The component companies of Hyundai Motor Group, including Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp. and Hyundai Mobis have each approved the planned venture. Last November, HMG signed a memorandum of understanding with SK On to secure EV battery supply for North America, in compliance with the U.S.-made requirements for tax credits contained in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The total investment amount for the joint venture is expected to be approximately $5 billion, with HMG and SK On each holding a 50% stake. SK On is a part of the large South Korean conglomerate led by SK Innovation, a descendant company of the Korea Oil Corp. SK has multiple branches in petrochemicals, mining, energy production, and battery technology.
Coming to Georgia
The joint venture intends to establish an EV battery cell plant in Bartow County, Georgia, close to HMG’s U.S. production facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Kia Georgia and Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.
The new plant is expected to start manufacturing battery cells in Q3 or Q4 2025 with an annual production capacity of 35 GWh, which is sufficient to support the production of 300,000 EVs. Hyundai Mobis will assemble battery packs using cells from the plant, then supply them to HMG’s U.S. manufacturing facilities for production of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models.
The joint venture, according to Hyundai, further accelerates the group’s electrification efforts and bolsters its position as an EV leader in the U.S. market with a stable battery supply to support the production of highly competitive EVssuch as Kia’s Niro, EV6 and EV9, Hyundai’s Kona and Ioniq, and the Genesis GV60, Electrified GV70, and Electrified GV80.
Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 recently won World Car of the Year honors as well as awards for World Electric Vehicle of the Year and Car Design of the Year. Additionally, SangYup Lee, head of design for HMG was named World Car’s 2023 Person of the Year.
Major Investment in South Korea
HMG is also investing heavily in domestic EV manufacturing in Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. Earlier this month, Kia executives broke ground on a new factory there that will have an initial annual capacity of 150,000 electric vehicles in 2025, with future growth expected. Altogether, Kia has stated an intention to invest almost $18 billion in EV manufacturing worldwide.
“Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Hyundai MOBIS together plan to invest KRW 24 trillion in the domestic electric vehicle industry by 2030, with the goal of making South Korea one of the top three players in the global EV market,” said Kia President and CEO Ho Sung Song, in a statement.
“Our focus is to enhance the competitiveness of the entire electric vehicle ecosystem, including research and development, production, and infrastructure, and to lead the way in driving change and innovation in the new global automotive industry.”
The number and cost of these battery plants is staggering. When you consider that this is only for the means to store, not generate, electricity, it looks foolish.
I’d like to compare the costs to:
– Generate and distribute hydrogen to power fuel cells.
– The electricity to electrolyze water should be comparable to what’s used to charge the batteries so that’s a wash.
– Cost of on-board batteries vs. fuel cells.
– Battery recycling cost.
– Mining, distribution, clean-up cost for battery chemicals.
I’m sure the fuel cell approach wins hands down.
And, if you don’t like fuel cells, how about developing an ‘engine’ that uses hydrogen as a fuel? Turbine, steam, Wankel, … Anything but these damn battery monstrosities.
When everyone is thinking the same thing, someone isn’t thinking!
Jim, I’m not even going to go through your entire comment. But you err right from the beginning. Do you realize that it takes far more energy per mile to create hydrogen, at least if you expect to use clean energy sources? And if you don’t go with solar, wind, hydro or geothermal you are not only spending more, comparatively, than you would to charge a battery, but concurrently creating significantly more CO2 and other emissions. No, it is NOT a wash. Not close. There is plenty of data to back this. And that’s why H2 costs, where available, typically run $10+/kilogram, a kg offering roughly the energy of a gallon of gas. Even in California that would be a substantial increase in energy costs. And promises to drive down H2 costs have failed to materialize.
Also, note that FCEVs generally require some level of batteries onboard, typically packs somewhere in size between hybrids and plug-in hybrids. The problem is that you don’t want to size a fuel-cell stack to provide peak energy loads. At the least, you need those batteries for transient spikes. (Remember, an FCEV stack is, essentially, a “refillable battery.” you are generating current to power the same sort of electric motors as in a BEV.)
You typically need a fair bit of rare earths for the stack, as well as metals for the battery — albeit less than in a full-blown BEV.
There is no production and distribution infrastructure of note, and setting one up on a scale to replace gas (or battery) vehicles would make the cost of an EV energy network seem modest.
I will address one other point: using H2 as a fuel for internal combustion vehicles. A number of manufacturers have tried this, including Mazda in a Wankel, and BMW in its Hydrogen-7 sedan. If you thought cost-per-mile in a fuel-cell vehicle was high, wait until you see what it takes here. It’s repeatedly proven to be an extremely inefficient fuel for ICE, even though Toyota is exploring its use in racing. There are other challenges, such as metal embrittlement, and storage tanks can make EV battery packs seem svelte. ALSO…burning H2 generates high enough temps to create a modest but measurable output of NOX, along with water vapor.
Not everyone is thinking the same thing. But science (including engineering) goes by the principle that you explore options and discard those that don’t work.
BTW, if you check the history of my reporting you will realize I’ve been intrigued by fuel cells since they were first used on the Apollo mission. I long echoed your position. Unfortunately, the data don’t support it.
There is ONE potential exception where H2 could really be a plus: medium and long-haul trucking. Despite Musk’s proclamations, it’s difficult to make a case for using batteries for those applications. (Short-haul, maybe.) Not only can trucks carry plenty of H2 but a sizable share of fleets follow designated routes, meaning one can define where they will regularly fuel up along the way. The prototypes Hyundai and Toyota are running at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles appear to be proving out.
When thinking differently, one needs to be able to switch directions if they run into a dead end. I’m not ruling out FCEV tech entirely, but it has huge problems you have overlooked.
Paul E.
Paul,
Even some people in Michigan are getting the word. 200 million more people to convince.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/04/27/michigan-seeks-aid-for-hydrogen-power-but-its-climate-friendliness-is-under-fire/70147033007/