LG Energy Solution and General Motors will invest more than $2.3 billion to build another battery cell manufacturing plant in the U.S., the companies announced Friday at an event in the state of Tennessee, where the factory will be located asia.nikkei.com/Business/Autom…
The plant will be built by Ultium Cells, a U.S.-based joint venture of the two companies, with construction to begin immediately
The facility is scheduled to go online in late 2023 and will create 1,300 jobs
"The addition of our second all-new Ultium battery cell plant in the U.S. with our joint venture partner LG Energy Solution is another major step in our transition to an all-electric future," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a press release
Ultium is currently building its first EV battery plant in the state of Ohio with an investment of 2.7 trillion won ($2.4 billion), according to LG
The factory is expected to start operating next year
LG said last month that its joint venture with GM will be its second foray into manufacturing EV batteries in the U.S., noting that the new factory will produce batteries from 2023 using next-generation technology
South Korean companies are investing aggressively in the U.S. as President Joe Biden plans to spend big on infrastructure and technology, including semiconductors and batteries as part of his "Build Back Better" campaign
Samsung Electronics may build a new chip foundry in the U.S., adding to its existing facility in Texas
Samsung is the No. 2 player in the global foundry market, manufacturing chips for other companies, and looks to challenge market leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co
South Korean media estimate that Samsung's investment may reach $17 billion, but the company has yet to confirm the amount
Meanwhile, LG rival SK Innovation is investing $2.6 billion to build factories in the state of Georgia to supply electric car batteries to Ford and VW
That project had been in doubt until last week, when SK agreed to pay $1.8 billion to LG Energy in a dispute over the misappropriation of trade secrets
With the settlement, SK could avoid the implementation of a February U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that would have banned it from exporting batteries and components to the U.S. for 10 years
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This is the Long Version for the Cognoscenti and folk who want to really understand and learn
Norway is the leading market in the world in terms of the current Transition to EVs
- and it also has relatively good and timely data sources
So what can we learn from Norway's EV experience that may be useful when looking at other markets ?
1. This chart shows the evolution of Norway's Passenger Car Fleet since 1960
2. The expansion of the Fleet in the early days had some really high growth rates before settling down over time into low single digits, with occaisonal setbacks followed by recoveries of different shapes
WHAT MIGHT BE THE OPTIMAL MODEL OF ENGAGEMENT FOR TESLA IN ROBOTAXIS ?
Let us start with the practical premise that the Initial Addressable Market is the one currently served worldwide by Uber and Lyft and a few others
And recognize China as a separate significant "Wild Card"
The major capital cost of a Robotaxi Network is the vehicles themselves
If the Network is well run and the vehicles are operated profitably, then it should be possible to package 100% of their ownership up into Robotaxi Bonds which would be sold in the market
These Robotaxi Bonds would be structured to last the working life of the vehicles and make Principal and Interest payments on a quarterly basis, with the outstanding amount declining steadily over time in line with the mileage-based depreciation of the vehicles
Third-party autonomous vehicles do not automatically do anything more than replace existing third-party driven vehicles from taxis to scheduled buses to shuttle services
And removing the cost of the driver does not magically make them an alternative to the personal vehicle
Instead, lower cost per driven mile makes them more affordable for new types of flexibility in public transportation, including new types of local area "bus" services with callable vehicles that can stop at your front door
Intel Corp.’s Mobileye division today announced plans to launch driverless delivery trucks by 2023 in partnership with autonomous vehicle delivery company Udelv Inc siliconangle.com/2021/04/12/int…
Under the partnership, Mobileye’s self-driving system, known as Mobileye Drive will provide the autonomous driving technology for Udelv’s next-generation electric self-driving delivery vehicle known as the “Transporter"
Intel said this is the first large-scale deal for a self-driving system and signals that Mobileye Drive plans to be ready for commercial deployment in solutions involving the autonomous movement of goods and people