On Thursday, LG Energy Solution and Honda erected the final structural steel beam at the joint venture’s new EV battery production facility being constructed in Jefferson Township.
Submitted photos
JEFFERSONVILLE – LG Energy Solution and Honda today marked Leap Day by erecting the final structural steel beam at the joint venture’s new EV battery production facility being constructed near Jeffersonville. This major construction milestone comes almost one year to the day after the groundbreaking that took place for the over two million square feet facility that is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Projected to reach an overall investment of $4.4 billion and create some 2,200 new jobs, the joint venture aims to start mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries in 2025, to be supplied to Honda auto plants to produce EVs to be sold in North America.
“The project is on track,” said Rick Riggle, COO of the LG Energy Solution-Honda joint venture. “It’s been almost exactly one year since the groundbreaking, where really we just had the stone pad out there. We are on track to start trials for sample production in fall of 2024, and we are still on track for starting production in late 2025.”
He continued, “I could not have asked for better weather over the last 12 months. I talked to Tony Anderson, Fayette County Commissioner, and he even commented that this has probably been the best year for farming and construction. We have been really fortunate in terms of rain or extreme cold.”
Riggle was very thankful for those who have been a part of this process.
“I want to thank our local community partners, all elected officials in Fayette County, Jefferson Township, Jeffersonville, and Washington Court House. They have all been great partners through this whole process. Especially with the focus on construction here, we want to thank our general contractor, TYK, and all the subcontractors and trades and crafts that they bring on site. They have all been working really hard out there, they are true professionals with world-class performance, and I just cannot express enough my appreciation for all the hard worth that their team is doing out there.”
“Today is an important milestone for the LG Energy Solution-Honda team as the structure of the EV battery production facility takes its final shape,” said Bob Lee, CEO of the LG Energy Solution-Honda joint venture. “One year ago, we were breaking ground in an empty field and today we can see the finish line for this project, and we want to thank everyone working at the site and the local community who have made this possible.”
Riggle spoke about some of the next steps for the construction of the plant, which is being constructed just west of Ohio 729 and south of I-71 in Jefferson Township
“We started doing the interior finishes, the mechanical and HVAC. There is a lot of electrical work where we have our contractors working inside the building, as well as plumbing. We are really getting excited that we are starting to receive some of our manufacturing equipment, and we will start the installation of those in early spring.”
Hiring Underway
In addition to the construction progress, hiring is underway for the plant. A variety of engineering and support positions are currently posted on the company website, with information about technician and production roles expected to be announced in the coming months.
“This is a very exciting moment as we take the first steps to assemble our new team for the joint venture EV battery facility being established by LG Energy Solution and Honda,” said Riggle. “We will continue to announce new career opportunities in the coming months that we hope will inspire the next-generation workforce to get involved in the advanced manufacturing roles that will help produce lithium-ion batteries and will power the Acura and Honda EV models that will go into production in Ohio in late 2025.”
For more information about careers at the LG Energy Solution-Honda joint venture facility, visit www.lgeshonda.com/careers to get the latest updates on open roles and information about how to apply.
Starting March 11, those interested can visit the OhioMeansJobs Fayette County Recruitment Center at Destination Outlets, located at Suite 8120 Factory Shops Blvd. in Jeffersonville.
Riggle spoke more about the recruiting center.
“It’s a recruiting space where people can come out and look at employment opportunities. We’ll have our current postings for positions we are recruiting for. Initially, we are looking for our core group that will come along and help us continue our project work. We are recruiting technical roles, as well as business and support roles. We are really excited to start building the team.”
He discussed the hiring timeline for production roles.
“We are still working through the final timeline for our production operator roles. Those will probably occur in late 2024. We will have some level of production operators coming on board as we are proceeding towards our sample production. We will bring those folks in for training and on-boarding to the company.”
The location of the joint venture between Honda and LGES was announced Oct. 11 and was formally established on Jan. 12.
In order to accommodate the Honda plant, Fayette County and its partners have about $130 million of worth of infrastructure work going on right now.
This includes a $60 million water treatment plant project, $25 million in wastewater improvements, the $30 million project for a water line up I-71, a $6 million elevated storage tank project, and $8 million for a pump station and tanks on I-71 at exit 45.
Honda has been producing automobiles in America for over 40 years, beginning in November 1982 with the start of automobile production at the Marysville Auto Plant.
In 2022, more than two-thirds of all Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were made in America, using domestic and globally sourced parts. Honda’s cumulative auto production in America now exceeds 30 million vehicles.
