Helping power the future at the newly constructed Ultium Cells, LLC Battery Plant, in Lordstown, Ohio.

SME provided surveying, geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, and Special Inspections services at the site of the newly constructed Ultium Cells, LLC Battery Plant, in Lordstown, Ohio.  

Geotechnical engineering services for this two-million-square-foot facility included significant earthwork with cuts and fills near 30 feet and a combination of shallow and deep foundations. SME worked closely with the project team to limit the potential for differential settlement in the deep fill areas, maximize the reuse of onsite material, and provided recommendations to develop efficient foundation designs.  

Construction materials testing, observations, and special inspection services included:

• Cement Stabilizing the building pad and pavement subgrade during the cut and fill operations for over 8 million square feet.
• Observing fill placement and compaction procedures and performing field density tests on the new utility trench backfill.
• Testing the foundation-bearing soils to verify the design-bearing pressure suitability, reviewing the placement of foundation reinforcing steel, and concrete testing.
• Performing field density testing for the floor slab subbases and concrete testing for interior slab-on-grade placements.
• Periodically reviewing masonry construction for the load-bearing CMU walls, including both mortar analyses and grout strength testing.
• Performing periodic review of structural steel field connections, including testing of bolted connections and visual review of weldments.
• Evaluating the suitability of the pavement subgrade soils (i.e., proofrolls) and performing in-place density tests on aggregate base material for the exterior pavements.
• Performing field density testing of subbases and aggregate bases and performing concrete testing on the concrete to be placed for the pavement, entry drives, dumpster pad, sidewalks, and curbs.
• Providing HMA paving reviews, including measuring the HMA loose thickness and temperature, performing in-place density testing of compacted HMA, and sampling the HMA for extraction/gradation testing.