The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given approval to build an electric vehicle battery component for the new Ultium Cells facility — a joint venture between General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solution — in Delta Township, just outside of Lansing.
This new plant is part of GM’s $7 billion investment in electric vehicle and battery production, and it’s located in Michigan’s newly drawn 7th Congressional District, which includes all of Livingston County.
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, is running in the 7th District against state Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, and the battery plant is one of the key issues in their race.
While Slotkin has been supportive of the project at the federal level — she joined with Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, as well as Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, in a bipartisan letter to EPA administrator Michael Regan earlier this year, urging swift approval of Ultium Cells use of carbon nanotubes — Barrett repeatedly voted in Michigan’s legislature against the funding making this and similar projects possible.
The incentive bills Barrett voted against as “corporate welfare” have resulted in the single biggest investment in the history of General Motors, with over $7 billion going into four Michigan manufacturing sites, creating 4,000 new jobs and retaining 1,000 others. It will also increase GM’s battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity.
“Getting this new plant up and running will generate thousands of new jobs in the Lansing area — both directly and indirectly — and will support GM’s manufacturing in other parts of Michigan,” Slotkin said in a statement. “That means the battery cells being built here in Lansing will support EVs being built by Michigan auto workers all across our state.”
The Delta Township facility will be GM’s third multi-billion dollar battery cell manufacturing plant in the U.S., and it will create 1,700 new jobs when fully operational.
“I’m so glad that the (EPA) has given GM and Ultium Cells the green light to move forward, and I can’t wait to see the significant impact this is going to have on mid-Michigan,” Slotkin said. “As the EV competition with China and others heats up, this plant is a win for Michigan, for American manufacturing, and for our national security.”
