LG Energy to adopt Siemens' digital factory technology

South Korea's LG Energy Solution Ltd. plans to adopt Siemens AG's smart factory technology to accelerate the digitization of its battery manufacturing process.

On Monday, LG Energy, the world's second-largest EV battery maker, signed a memorandum of understanding with the German technology company to build an "intelligent manufacturing system," LG said in a statement. 

LG Energy will first implement smart battery manufacturing processes at the second plant of its joint venture with General Motors Co., Ultium Cells LLC. The new plant, to be located in the US state of Tennesse, is expected to begin production in 2023.

LG will then apply digital factory technologies to all its plants in South Korea and abroad to improve their efficiency.

Through strategic collaboration, Siemens will offer digital technologies and relevant software to LG Energy.

“We believe the partnership with the world-renown Siemens AG will efficiently promote LG Energy Solution’s digitized manufacturing processes, ultimately enabling LGES to provide the finest services to our clients,” Kwon Young-soo, CEO of LG Energy Solution, said in the statement.

“The process of manufacturing intelligence in producing batteries is becoming a critical factor, especially as LGES continues to advance the quality of its products while expanding production base worldwide,” Kwon added.

Further, the collaboration between the two companies will allow LG Energy to cut back on carbon footprint in its entire supply chain management, according to LG. 

In April, LG Energy and GM announced a plan to spend 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) in building their second US EV battery plant in Tennessee, in order to double their JV's EV battery output in the US.

LG Energy is preparing to list on the Korea Exchange later next month. It it goes public as planned, the company will likely become the third most valuable stock in the country, with a market value between 70 trillion won and 80 trillion won ($59 billion-$67 billion).

Write to Hyung-kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.