Ultium Cells boosted by ruling

Commission finds rival stole 22 trade secrets from LG Chem subsidiary

A federal regulatory decision that could threaten the future of an electric vehicle battery factory in Georgia may result in a positive development for the General Motors-supported battery-cell plant under construction in Lordstown.

What the U.S. International Trade Commission ruling essentially does, according to a local expert, is eliminate SK Innovation, a South Korean company, as competition of electric vehicle battery and chemicals maker LG Chem, which has a 50 percent stake in the $2.3 billion Ultium Cells LLC facility.

The trade commission ruled SK Innovation stole 22 trade secrets from competitor LG Energy Solution, a subsidiary of LG Chem, and the company should be barred from importing, making or selling batteries in the U.S. for 10 years.

SK has contracts to supply batteries for an electric Ford F-150 truck and an electric Volkswagen SUV to be manufactured in Chattanooga, Tenn. The commission said SK can supply batteries to Ford Motor Co. for four years and to Volkswagen for two years, saying it had tailored its order to not disrupt those customers. SK also can repair and replace batteries in Kia vehicles that already have been sold.

The decision potentially opens a door for Ultium Cells, the GM / LG Chem joint venture on Tod Avenue SW.

"In some ways, I think it makes other car companies that are thinking of building hybrids or electric vehicles maybe think more about getting close to the Lordstown facility because it looks like into the future there will be more stability with that plant than with SK Innovations," Paul Sracic, political science professor at Youngstown State University, said.

Ultium Cells is targeted to start production sometime in early 2022. GM foresees the plant being a major player in its plans of an all-electric future.

Said Guy Coviello, incoming president of the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber, "the success of LG Chem is very important to our community because along with GM, it is making a major investment here. So we want that to be successful. If their competitor did something illegal, the U.S. should and obviously did intervene to correct the wrong."

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has asked President Joe Biden to review the ruling against SK Innovation and override the decision. SK Innovation is building a $2.6 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia that the company has said would employ 2,600 workers.

Biden has 60 days to review or block the ruling.

LG had accused SK of hiring away dozens of employees to steal battery technology and an administrative law judge ruled in LG's favor last year. The trade commission upheld the ruling.

SK's "total disregard of our warnings and intellectual property rights gave us no choice but to file this case," said John Hyun Jim, CEO of LG Energy Solution. "We are grateful to the International Trade Commission for protecting our innovations and significant economic investments in the United States."

SK Innovation said it has "serious concerns about the commercial and operational implications of this decision for the future of our EV-battery facility in Commerce, Georgia." The state gave $300 million in free land, cash and other incentives for the factory, which is now partially built and is supposed to open in 2022.

LG left open the possibility that SK could end the dispute by paying to license LG's technology.

Said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland, "I'm very grateful that our government is vigorously enforcing intellectual property rights. This is excellent news for the health and protection of the GM-LG Chem Ultium Plant and our growing energy economy in Voltage Valley."