ENR Midwest Best Projects 2023
AOM Energy/Industrial Ultium Cells Battery Manufacturing Plant
Photo courtesy Ultium Cells Co.
Ultium Battery Cells Battery Manufacturing Plant
Warren, Ohio
Award of Merit
Submitted by: Barton Malow Co.
Owner: Ultium Cells LLC
Lead Design Firm/Structural/MEP: Gresham Smith
General Contractor: Barton Malow Co.
Electrical Subcontractor: Hunt Electric Corp./Lighthouse Electric Joint Venture
Mechanical Subcontractor: John E. Green Co.
Integrated project delivery brought this 2.8-million-sq-ft lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility to life on 156 acres in northeastern Ohio. Owned by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, the plant will mass-produce Ultium battery cells for electric vehicles, equivalent to more than 40-gigawatt hours of annual capacity, while creating more than 1,500 new high-tech jobs.
More than 3 million work hours across a compressed timetable brought the project to substantial completion on time and within budget in July 2022. Co-locating all stakeholders under one roof streamlined problem-solving and allowed for real-time solutions. Originally conceived with a multibuilding design, the project evolved into a single massive building, streamlining the construction process.
Just-in-time design helped deliver specifications to the field so construction efforts could continue in line with the accelerated schedule. The team established a BIM cluster group that set the tone for the construction flow, aligning efforts by area.
An interactive drawing layered all elements of construction into a single model that allowed different trades to see how their work interacted with other scopes, which saved work hours and decreased costs. Seeing all scopes also enabled use of a single crane on an equipment platform outside the building, streamlining logistics and site coordination.
