GM, LG retool Tennessee battery plant for energy storage batteries, recall laid-off workers

<p>By Kalea Hall</p>
<p>DETROIT, March 17 (Reuters) - General Motors and battery partner LG Energy Solution are transforming an electric-vehicle battery ‌plant in Tennessee to make batteries for energy storage ‌systems, the companies said Tuesday.</p>
<p>GM and LG, through their joint venture Ultium Cells, ​will recall 700 laid-off workers to start production of lithium-iron phosphate batteries at the plant in the second quarter. Ultium in January laid off workers at the Tennessee plant and at another facility ‌in Ohio through ⁠mid-2026 due to slower EV sales.</p>
<p>Battery producers are seeking solutions to address excess EV battery capacity, and ⁠energy storage is seen as a key option given the growing need for energy to support upcoming AI data centers.</p>
<p>LG has been transitioning ​some of ​its EV battery capacity to ​energy storage batteries, and some ‌competitors, including SK On, are doing the same after policy shifts under U.S. President Donald Trump hurt EV demand.</p>
<p>GM has pulled back on some of its EV production, lowering its need for battery cells. As a result, GM sold its stake in ‌a Michigan battery plant to LG, ​and construction on another plant with Samsung ​in Indiana has slowed.</p>
<p>"We ​don't have enough demand to fill three factories," ‌said Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president ​of battery, propulsion ​and sustainability, in a January interview with Reuters.</p>
<p>Kelty added that, in the energy storage market, "right now, the demand exceeds ​supply tremendously, and ‌it's going to continue to exceed it for the next ​several years."</p>
<p>(Reporting by Kalea Hall; editing by Mike Colias, ​Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)</p>