LG Energy Solution says it’s temporarily pausing construction plans for the second phase of its $5.5 billion battery manufacturing plant in Arizona.LGES has been planning to develop two battery plants in Queen Creek including a cylindrical battery factory for electric vehicles and an energy storage system (ESS) battery factory. The company is expected to become Queen Creek’s largest employer, creating nearly 4,000 jobs.Vertical construction on its cylindrical battery factory started earlier this year and will not be impacted by the South Korean tech giant’s decision to pause plans for its second plant, according to the company.Production is expected to start in 2026 on the LGES battery plant that’s currently under construction by general contractor Yates Construction and designed by Ware Malcomb.For its second battery plant, an LGES statement provided to the Business Journal said the company is “adjusting the pace” of its investment based on market conditions and “focusing on optimizing our operations.””As part of such efforts, we are temporarily putting the construction of Arizona ESS battery facility on hold,” the statement read. “We still believe the facility will play an important role in our North America operations as we expect continued growth in the U.S. ESS market.”The ESS plant was also proposed to start production by 2026 but any new timeline is unclear at this point. Barton Malow is the general contractor for the second battery plant, which was designed by Dearborn, Michigan-based Ghafari. Ware Malcomb is the civil engineer.A spokesperson for Southfield, Michigan-based Barton Malow said they are working closely with LGES on next steps and declined to comment …
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