September 14, 2024

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In this file photo, Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho (right) and General Motors CEO Mary Barra sign a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture in March 2023. (Samsung SDI)

Samsung SDI and General Motors reaffirmed their commitment to the growth of the electric vehicle market despite the recent slowdown as they finalized the agreement to establish a joint battery plant in the United States on Tuesday.

According to Samsung SDI, key representatives from the Korean battery maker and the US automaker attended the signing ceremony at Samsung SDI’s office in Seoul to complete the agreement.

Samsung SDI and GM reached an initial agreement in April last year to form an EV battery joint venture and have been working on finalizing details since then.

The joint EV battery plant will be located in New Carlisle, Indiana on a 2.77 million square-meter site with an expectation to create more than 1,600 jobs.

The two companies aim to begin mass production in 2027 with an annual production capacity of 27 gigawatt-hours at the start of the operation of the new battery cell manufacturing plan, which will be enough to power about 350,000 EVs. They plan to increase the annual production capacity to 36 GWh later on.

“Building on last year's partnership with GM, the No. 1 automaker in North America, we have established a premium battery production hub to lead the US EV market,” said Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho.

“Samsung SDI will make the best efforts to support GM and enhance its leadership in the EV market with the company’s PRiMX battery products featuring 'Super Gap' technology.”

According to the battery maker, the new plant will produce lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxides, or NCA-based, high-performance nickel-rich prismatic batteries, which will be to be loaded onto GM’s future EVs. Samsung SDI pointed out that its prismatic batteries not only improve an EV’s driving range through high energy density but also enhance safety with its metallic exterior and venting system.

“The Samsung SDI joint venture is the latest example of GM’s commitment to driving innovation in America,” said GM CEO Mary Barra.

“The EV market and GM sales will continue to grow as more customers experience our EVs, the charging infrastructure builds out and we expand into more segments.”

As the company has secured another foothold in the North American EV market through the GM partnership, Samsung SDI said it will look to woo more customers.

The Korean battery maker previously teamed up with Stellantis to establish a joint venture in the US and has been constructing two battery manufacturing plants in Kokomo, Indiana. The two companies committed over $6.3 billion for the two factories. The first plant is scheduled to begin operation in the first quarter of next year with an annual production capacity of 33 GWh while the second site is projected to open in early 2027 with an annual production capacity of 34 GWh.

Choi, CEO of Samsung SDI, said in March this year that the company was reviewing an option to build its own EV battery plant in the US to boost its production capacity without mentioning any details.

By Kan Hyeong-woo (hwkan@heraldcorp.com)