Ultium Cells to Invest $1 Billion to Rework Spring Hill Battery Plant

Issue #827

September 29, 2026

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

⛅️ Columbia’s Wednesday Weather - Mostly cloudy w/ high of 88, low of 54

📰 Ultium Cells to Invest $1 Billion to Rework Spring Hill Battery Plant

🍌 National Banana Pudding Festival Returns to Centerville This Weekend

🗓 List of Upcoming Events

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

Ultium Cells to Invest $1 Billion to Rework Spring Hill Battery Plant

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Deputy Governor and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter today announced Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors (GM), will retool and diversify its Spring Hill, Tennessee, battery cell manufacturing operations.

Ultium Cells will invest $1 billion in its Spring Hill facility, which is expected to be the first in the world to produce prismatic lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery cells in mass production, a technology that offers energy density 33% greater than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) — today’s leading affordable battery chemistry — but at a comparable cost.

Facility modifications will begin later this year and are expected to be completed in 2028. Today’s announcement builds on a partnership between the two companies to develop prismatic battery cell technology and related chemistries and on GM’s long legacy of American ingenuity that’s produced innovations like the small-block V8 engine, OnStar connected vehicle services and hands-free Super Cruise.

GM and LG Energy Solution originally announced their joint venture in 2021, pledging to create 1,300 jobs and with an investment of more than $2.3 billion. In 2022, the two companies announced an expansion at the facility, creating another 400 new jobs and investing a further $275 million.

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Maury County Mayor Sheila Butt posted today…

“I received a call early this morning from Chris Desautels, TN Plant Director for Ultium Cells, sharing the details of this announcement with me. 

We had a good discussion and he assured me that the water proj"ections will not change and the investment will create 400 new jobs in the future.”

National Banana Pudding Festival Returns to Centerville This Weekend

The 17th annual National Banana Pudding Festival is this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 3-4, in Centerville, about 45 minutes from downtown Columbia. The two-day festival includes a national cook-off, live music on two stages, pudding eating contests, areas for kids, nearly 100 craft vendors and plenty of banana pudding to try.

The festival started with twelve community volunteers in Centerville who were looking for a way to raise money to help victims of disasters such as fires, tornadoes and floods. They incorporated the National Banana Pudding Festival as a nonprofit in September 2009 and held the first festival in 2010. Along the way, they realized the event could also give other nonprofits a way to earn money for their own causes. Supporting local nonprofits is still the festival's mission today.

The best-known part of the weekend is the Puddin' Path, where a $10 box lets you sample banana pudding made by eleven local nonprofit organizations. If you want some for later, the Puddin' To Go tent has pudding packaged up to take home for $7 each.

The National Cook-Off for the Best Banana Pudding in America starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, with contestants making their puddings live. This year's entries come from Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Florida and North Carolina. Right after the competition, a cook-off auction gives attendees the chance to take home a pan of a national winning banana pudding, and awards will be presented at 2 p.m. Pudding eating contests run throughout both days, including children's contests on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Live music plays all weekend, with Brown's Gift Shop Revival and Daniel Bey's Jazz Band on Saturday and the Angie Laster Band and On The Rise Band on Sunday. The full schedule is available on the festival's website.

Families will find two separate kids' areas: Little 'Nanners Children's Area for younger kids and Banana Land, billed as the place "Where the Big Kids Go Bananas." Food booths and southern craft vendors round out the grounds.

The festival also has a country music connection. It's held near Grinder's Switch Rail Station, the inspiration for Minnie Pearl's fictional hometown. Sarah Cannon, who performed as Minnie Pearl, was born and raised on the Duck River across from Grinder's Switch in Hickman County.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 5-12. Children under 5 get in free, and military members are admitted free with ID. Parking is free at an offsite shuttle lot, or $20 onsite. Both cash and cards are accepted.

Upcoming Local Events

🗓 Have an event to add? Send us the Details!

Wednesday, September 30th

Thursday, October 1st

Friday, October 2nd

Saturday, October 3rd

Sunday, October 4th

👇 Click the Links to Learn About our Local Business Sponsors! 👇

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Tuesday, September 29
Songwriters Round - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 6-9 PM

Thursday, October 1
Todd Ciprian - Tito's, 6-9 PM

Friday, October 2
Golden Soul Revue - Grinder's Switch Winery, 6-8 PM
First Fridays with James Carothers - Puckett's, 6:30-8 PM
Unredacted and Speed Trap - Twisted Copper Brewing Co, 6:30-9 PM
Scott Burt Big Band - Riverwalk Park, 7 PM
Live on the Square - Box of Rox - Puckett's, 8-10 PM

Saturday, October 3
The Vineyard Sessions - Natchez Hills Vineyard, 2-5 PM
Nick Bentley - Keg Springs Winery, 2-5 PM
TBA - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 3-7 PM
Curated Writers Round - The Bourbon Gospel, 7:30 PM
Vintage Voltage - The Rebel Bar & Grill, 7:30 PM
Lucie Tiger - Puckett's, 7:30-9 PM

Sunday, October 4
Maddie Rose - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 1-5 PM
Twisted Sunday Jam - The Rebel Bar & Grill, 3-7 PM

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