Ultium Cells ships first completed battery cells to General Motors, Spring Hill

Jay Powell, Columbia Daily Herald
Updated ·2 min read
Ultium Cells staff gathers after completing its first shipment of batteries to General Motors in Spring Hill, culminating in two-and-a-half years of work since the plant's groundbreaking.
Ultium Cells staff gathers after completing its first shipment of batteries to General Motors in Spring Hill, culminating in two-and-a-half years of work since the plant's groundbreaking.

Ultium Cells in Spring Hill successfully shipped its first battery cells to its customer, General Motors.

This milestone represents the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work, according to an Ultium press release issued Monday.

“This moment has been years in the making, and I’m grateful to the thousands of contractors, community partners, and team members who have worked tirelessly to make this moment a reality," Plant Director Chris Desautels said. "We’ve built a great team here in Spring Hill, and we’re proud of this world-class facility.”

Chris Desaultes, Ultium Cells plant manager, speaks about the plants hallway system and timetables for construction in Spring Hill, Tenn. on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
Chris Desaultes, Ultium Cells plant manager, speaks about the plants hallway system and timetables for construction in Spring Hill, Tenn. on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.

The facility, which spans a half mile along Highway 31 between Spring Hill and Columbia, will continue to produce millions of battery cells for GM’s Ultium Platform electric vehicles, including the Cadillac Lyriq produced at GM’s neighboring Spring Hill Assembly plant.

Shipments to other GM plants will increase in volume and frequency as the plant commissions additional production lines.

More: Ultium Cells to build next generation of manufacturing workforce in Middle TN

“Tennessee creates incredible synergies by combining the operational expertise of GM and the validated, state of the art battery processes and equipment technology of LG Energy Solution to make benchmark battery cells for our customer General Motors," Youngduk Kim, Regional Director Dispatched from LG Energy Solution, said.

The Ultium Cells battery plant, whose facility stretches a half mile between Columbia and Spring Hill off Highway 31, recently announced hitting its key target and shipping its first completed batteries to the General Motors Spring Hill plant.
The Ultium Cells battery plant, whose facility stretches a half mile between Columbia and Spring Hill off Highway 31, recently announced hitting its key target and shipping its first completed batteries to the General Motors Spring Hill plant.

Ultium Cells continues to seek well-qualified applicants to join the company's launch team at the . Interested applicants can visit www.ultiumcell.com to learn more about Ultium Cells or apply for career openings.

Spring Hill is Ultium Cells’ second battery cell manufacturing plant to reach regular production, after the Warren, Ohio plant, which started regular production in November 2022.

The approximately $2.6 billion, 2.8 million square foot facility, is projected to be fully operational by 2025 with a workforce of up to 1,700 workers.

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Ultium Cells ships first battery cells to Spring Hill GM plant