Korea-based LG Chem has started work on the company’s 420-acre site in Clarksville, northwest of Nashville. LG Chem is investing $3.2 billion to build factories to make cathode material for batteries that will power electric vehicles. The cathode is a compound consisting of nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum. They hope to make enough to power 600,000 all-electric vehicles at a charge distance of more than 300 miles.

LG Chem’s investment is the largest investment by a foreign company in Tennessee history. The company expects to hire 860 workers over several years. Wages start at $24 an hour, and 200 jobs will pay $100,000 or more a year.LG Chem is spending half of its $3.2 billion in an initial round of construction. Production is set to begin in 2026. The plant will be built by JE Dunn Construction Co.