Battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution just announced that its Arizona subsidiary has signed a long-term supply agreement with US automaker Rivian for 4695 cylindrical batteries. The cells will be produced at LG Energy Solution Arizona’s new standalone US facility beginning next year and will power Rivian’s upcoming R2 BEVs.

LG Energy Solution (LGES) is a spinoff entity of LG Chem specializing in battery development and manufacturing. In the four short years since the entity was founded, the Korean company has established partnerships and supply agreements with OEMs worldwide and is currently one of the leaders in its respective market behind long-time frontrunner CATL.

When the Biden administration introduced the Inflation Reduction Act, which included tax incentives for BEVs and their batteries assembled on US soil, LGES was one the most popular battery manufacturers OEMs reached out to for joint ventures to set up localized cell manufacturing in North America.

Since then, we’ve seen facility plans announced between LGES and automakers like Hyundai Motor Group, Stellantis, Honda, and Ford, which recently decided to bring its operations stateside over from Europe. Toyota also has a supply agreement in place with LG Energy Solution.

In 2022, we covered the news that LG Energy Solution was investing $450 million to produce 4680 battery cells, a format pioneered by Tesla. The company has since developed taller, higher-capacity cells called 4695.

Today, the company announced a new deal for those 4695 cylindrical batteries, which will be produced in Arizona and delivered to Rivian for its R2 models.

Rivian R2 will be powered by LG Energy Solution batteries

LG Energy Solution shared details of its latest supply agreement this afternoon. The company has signed on to provide Rivian with its advanced 4695 cylindrical batteries for over five years, delivering a total energy capacity of 67 GWh during that time.

The “4695” nomenclature refers to the dimensions of the battery cells, which have a diameter of 46mm and a height of 95mm. LG Energy Solution explained that its 20 years of research and development in cylindrical batteries have gone into its next-generation 4695 cells for Rivian.

The battery specialist states that its larger cells will offer OEMs long-range and high safety while delivering over six times the capacity of the existing 2170 cylindrical cells popular in BEV battery modules today. LG Energy Solution CEO David Kim spoke about the company’s 4695 batteries and its robust supply agreement with Rivian:

Due to the dynamic nature of the current EV market, an increasing number of global automakers are demonstrating a strong preference for a diverse range of battery form factors. This large-scale order from Rivian for 4695 batteries marks a key milestone for LG Energy Solution in expanding its client base within the cylindrical battery segment.

Today, we also learned that the batteries for Rivian will eventually be manufactured at its pending facility in Arizona within the first year of production, then delivered to Rivian’s assembly plant in Normal, Illinois, where they will be implemented in R2 models sold in the North American market. 

Construction of LGES’ Arizona facility is underway and expected to be completed and begin full-scale production in less than two years from now.

The Rivian R2 was unveiled this past March to much fanfare, and well over 100,000 pre-orders have since been placed. It will be assembled at the Normal, IL, facility and may eventually move to the American Automaker’s second manufacturing plant, which remains under construction in Georgia.

During its reveal, Rivian shared that it expects the R2 BEV to reach the market in the first half of 2026. If that timeline holds, it should be right around when LG Energy Solution begins producing batteries for those Rivian models in Arizona.

Lucid Motors (LCID) announced it has enough funding for “well into 2026” after releasing third-quarter earnings. After its third straight quarter of record deliveries, Lucid will begin building its first electric SUV, the Gravity, later this year.

Lucid has funding for Gravity SUV launch and more

“Our momentum continues with our third consecutive quarter of record deliveries,” Lucid’s CEO Peter Rawlinson said after releasing the company’s Q3 2024 financial results.

After delivering another 2,781 vehicles in the third quarter, Lucid’s delivery total reached 7,142 through September. That’s more than the 6,001 Lucid delivered in 2023 already.

The higher deliveries led to top-line growth in the third quarter. Lucid posted $200 million in Q3 revenue, up from $137.8 million last year. Despite the higher delivery total, Lucid’s cost of revenue also fell to $412 million as the company continued driving down costs.

However, Lucid’s net loss rose to $992.5 million on the higher output, up from $630.9 million in Q3 2023.

Lucid ended the third quarter with about $5.16 billion in total liquidity. Its recent $1.75 billion capital raise “serves to further secure the future of the company by extending its financial runway well into 2026,” Rawlinson said.

After opening orders for its first electric SUV on Thursday, Lucid said Gravity production is still on track to start later this year. It has already begun pre-production builds.

Rawlinson calls the Gravity a “landmark product” starting at $79,800 with expected up to 440 miles range.

Lucid also teased its upcoming midsize electric SUV in September. Starting at under $50,000, the new model is expected to rival Tesla’s top-selling Model Y. A midsize electric sedan is also in the works and could compete with the Model 3.

Rawlinson previously said the new midsize models are aimed “right in the heart of Tesla Model 3, Model Y territory.” Lucid plans to begin production on the midsize platform in late 2026.

Affirm, the provider of buy now, pay later loans, reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results.

Here is how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG.

• Loss per share: 31 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 35 cents expected
• Revenue: $698 million vs. $664 million expected

Affirm reported gross merchandise volume, or GMV, of $7.6 billion, topping the average estimate of $7.28 billion, according to StreetAccount. GMV, a key metric that helps gauge the total value of transactions, increased 35% from a year earlier.

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter rose 41% from $496.5 million a year earlier.

Revenue less transaction costs, or RLTC, came in at $285 million, ahead of earlier guidance of $265 million to $280 million.

Affirm said it expects to achieve profitability on a GAAP basis in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2025. Last quarter, CEO Max Levchin said in a note to shareholders that the company had set a new goal of hitting operating profitability on a GAAP basis by the end of its fiscal year.

The company sees second-quarter revenue of between $770 million and $810 million, or $790 million in the middle of the range, versus the average estimate of $785 million, according to LSEG. Affirm is guiding to GMV in the range of $9.35 billion to $9.75 billion. Analysts polled by StreetAccount called for GMV of $9.48 billion.

Affirm shares were about flat for the year as of Thursday’s close, but have been trending higher lately, up more than 70% since the end of August.

The company’s new relationship with Apple plus other partnerships with Amazon and Shopify are helping results. In June, Affirm and Apple announced plans for U.S. Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads to be able to apply for loans directly through Affirm.

“Affirm’s growth story has continued, particularly as they add new strategic distribution partners,” Kevin Kennedy, an analyst at global research firm Third Bridge, said in an email.

Kennedy added that the quality of Affirm’s underwriting, specifically for higher-priced orders and interest-bearing BNPL purchases, sets the company apart from the growing list of competitors.

“The payments space is constantly facing commoditization risk, and BNPL, while nascent, is facing the same challenge,” he wrote. “However, large ticket interest bearing purchases, which are becoming more accessible through Affirm, are better protected” compared with offerings from peers, he added.

Square parent Block, which also reported earnings after the bell, acquired BNPL firm Afterpay for $29 billion in 2021.

Affirm’s quarterly earnings call starts at 5:00 p.m. ET.

— CNBC’s Robert Hum contributed to this report.