LG Energy Solution will build a sodium-ion battery mother line at its Ochang plant by end-2026 and begin proof-of-concept projects with global customers in 2027, applying its Advanced Z-Stacking process rather than CATL's winding method. It's the Korean counter to CATL's 5 GWh European sodium deal days earlier.
LG Energy Solution will supply North America-made JF2 LFP systems for Steel River in Arkansas — Google's largest solar-plus-storage development, starting at 1.6GW solar/2GWh storage and expanding to 2.5GW/2.9GWh by 2029, powering data centers under a long-term PPA.
In Korea's first government-led AI-based distribution-grid ESS project (₩558.6B over five years; phase one 128MW across 32 lines), Samsung SDI's SBB 1.5 won ~66% of battery volume (~420MWh, 6 of 9 consortiums); LG Energy took 22% — and an operator seat — SK On 12%.
Ultium Cells began mass-producing LFP cells for energy storage at Spring Hill, Tennessee — a $70M line conversion that recalls ~700 workers laid off in January. Cells go to LGES Vertech for grid- and data-center-scale ESS across North America.
LG Energy's Q2 operating profit fell 77% YoY to ₩113.3B (a loss excluding US AMPC credits) on weak EV demand and idled GM-JV plants — while ESS revenue grew, anchored by a 4.8GWh grid-storage supply agreement in Arizona.
The L-H Battery JV plant in Jeffersonville, Ohio began producing energy-storage-system batteries for AI data centers — a conversion of the ~$4.4B, 40GWh-class plant originally built for EV cells, with hybrid-vehicle batteries to follow in 2028.
LG Energy Solution is reportedly pursuing battery supply and joint-development agreements with humanoid makers including Tesla and Chinese robotics firms — six or more global companies, none publicly named. A report, not a signed order book.