South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution (LGES) announced this week it had signed an agreement with Ford Motor Company to supply battery cells and modules for its electrified commercial vans produced in Europe, including the E-Transit.
Under the deal, reported to be worth close to KRW13trn (US$10bn), LGES is committed to supplying a total of 109 GWh of batteries over a period of between four and six years from 2026 – enough for over 1 million battery-powered vans. The nickel, cobalt, manganese (NCM) “pouch” batteries will be supplied from the LGES’ Wrocław plant in Poland, after the two companies scrapped plans last year to build a battery manufacturing joint venture in Turkey.
LGES also said it has agreed to switch production of batteries for the US-made Ford Mustang Mach-E from Poland to its plant in Michigan from 2025, in order to “enhance business efficiency and capitalize on competitive market conditions such as the IRA tax credits”.
LG Energy Solution CEO David Kim said in a statement: “These agreements attest to our experience and expertise in powering commercial vehicles with innovative battery technologies designed to handle extreme user environments. Capitalizing on our local production capacity, we will secure leadership in the European market and deliver unmatched values to our customers through advanced battery technologies that effectively address diverse needs.”
