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EV batteries

Samsung SDI, Stellantis to build billion-dollar battery JV in US

With the latest deal, Korea’s battery trio will all have production facilities in the US

By Oct 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)

3 Min read

Samsung SDI's EV battery system
Samsung SDI's EV battery system

Samsung SDI Co. has partnered with Dutch-domiciled multinational automaker Stellantis N.V. to build a multi-billion-dollar battery facility in the US, joining other South Korean battery makers’ move to gain ground in one of the world’s largest electric vehicle markets.

The Samsung Group unit said on Tuesday it has signed a preliminary agreement with Stellantis to launch a joint venture to produce lithium-ion batteries for the North American market.

The two companies will further discuss details such as the location of the battery plant and construction schedules, according to Samsung SDI.

Samsung’s investment amount and the new factory’s production capacity weren’t disclosed, but industry officials said the plant would be worth a couple of trillion won, or billions of dollars.

Samsung SDI has been the only major Korean battery maker without a production facility in the US.

Currently, the company operates battery manufacturing plants in Korea, Hungary and China, supplying batteries to customers such as BMW and Ford Motor. In the US, it runs a battery pack assembly line in the state of Michigan.

The preliminary agreement comes a day after LG Energy Solution Ltd. announced on Monday it is launching a 4 trillion won ($3.4 billion) EV battery JV with Stellantis in the US.

LG’s JV plans to break ground on the new plant in the second quarter of next year with an aim to start production by the first quarter of 2024. Once completed, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours, raising LG’s total capacity in North America to 150 GWh.

Samsung's cylindrical batteries
Samsung's cylindrical batteries

DIVERSIFYING SOURCE OF PROCUREMENT

Stellantis, the world’s No. 4 automaker, is a 50-50 joint venture launched in January through the merger of US carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and French automaker PSA Groupe. The company has said it plans to invest more than €30 billion through 2025 in electrification and software development.

Analysts said Stellantis is diversifying its battery procurement sources by forging partnerships with both LG Energy and Samsung SDI to secure various types of batteries for installation in cars under its wing, including the Jeep SUV, Chrysler, Fiat, Maserati and Citroen.

Industry officials said Stellantis will likely receive prismatic and cylindrical types of batteries from LG Energy and pouch and cylindrical types from Samsung SDI.

Stellantis, through its joint ventures, aims to have an annual battery production capacity of 50 GWh in North America by 2025, and further raise it to 90 GWh by 2030.

Given the size of the Dutch company’s planned battery JV with LG Energy, Samsung SDI’s production capacity through its US JV with Stellantis could be 10 GWh a year by 2025 and 50 GWh by 2030, according to industry watchers.

LG Energy Solution and GM's joint battery plant under construction in the US
LG Energy Solution and GM's joint battery plant under construction in the US

SPENDING BIG

The Samsung-Stellantis deal is the latest in a series of tie-ups between battery producers and automakers.

In December 2019, LG Energy and General Motors formed a US joint venture Ultium Cells, which is currently building two 35GWh battery plants, one in Ohio and the other in Tennessee.

SK Innovation Co., another Korean battery maker, and Ford Motor last month officially kicked off a joint venture BlueOvalSK, which plans to invest $11.4 billion to build an assembly and battery complex and two additional battery factories in the US.

Japan’s Toyota Motor said on Monday it plans to build a $1.29 billion factory in the US to manufacture batteries for hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

The plant is part of $3.4 billion that Toyota plans to spend in the US on automotive batteries during the next decade.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
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