Stellantis & Samsung SDI plan 2nd US battery plant
Stellantis and Samsung SDI have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a second battery factory together in the US. The two companies are already building their first joint US plant in Kokomo, Indiana, which should be operational in early 2025.
Although the carmaker and the battery manufacturer have not yet revealed where the new battery factory will be built, they have said that it will have an annual production capacity of 34-gigawatt hours (GWh) and that production is scheduled to start in 2027. Stellantis says it will provide more detailed information at a later date.
In the meantime, the two companies say that their first joint battery factory in Kokomo will now start with an annual capacity of 33 GWh, which is ten-gigawatt hours more than previously planned. The companies had previously stated that the increase from 23 to 33 GWh was only to take place only in the context of an expansion in the coming years.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares says, “The new plant will help achieve our goal of offering at least 25 new battery electric vehicles in North America by the end of the decade.” This is part of the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, targeting a 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030.
“By establishing the joint venture with Stellantis last year, we laid a solid groundwork for marking our presence in North America,” remarked Samsung SDI President and CEO Yoon-ho Choi. “The second plant will accelerate our market penetration into the U.S. and help Stellantis push forward the U.S. transition to an era of electric vehicles by supplying the products featuring the highest levels of safety and quality.”
It was revealed in late May that the partners were planning one or two more battery factories in the USA. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act had created “very favourable” investment conditions in the country, Tavares explained at the time. Stellantis and Samsung SDI launched the StarPlus Energy battery joint venture in 2021.
Stellantis is also building a 45 GWh battery factory with LG Energy Solution in the Canadian province of Ontario. Stellantis aims to create battery cell production capacity totalling 400 GWh by 2030. In Europe, 120 GWh is to be covered by the three factories as part of the ACC joint venture in France, Germany and Italy.
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