Electric vehicles need batteries and as consumer demand for these vehicles grows, so does the need for carmakers to source a lot more batteries. Samsung SDI has been investing heavily to become one of the leading players in the market, and its latest plans involve setting up its own factory in the United States to make batteries for electric vehicles.
This would be the first wholly owned EV battery factory of Samsung SDI in the United States. It's already building two factories as a part of joint ventures with Stellantis and GM in the state of Indiana.
Samsung SDI to set up a standalone EV battery factory in the US
Samsung SDI is making significant investments to expand its EV battery capacity. It announced a nearly $2 billion joint venture with Stellantis back in 2022 to develop a battery manufacturing plant in Indiana. The investment gave Samsung SDI a 51% stake in the project. The initial production capacity is set to be 34-gigawatt hours (GWh) a year.
A standalone factory will enable Samsung SDI to better compete in the market and cater to other automotive customers that it's not in a joint venture with. Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho told reporters that Samsung will continue to enter into more joint ventures alongside establishing its standalone factory.
Talking about future prospects, Choi reiterated Samsung SDI's target to start mass production of solid-state batteries by 2027. A pilot line was set up for these advanced batteries in Suwon last year and the company has now been providing samples to car manufacturers for evaluation.
The company will remain focused on meeting that target this year by building out the core supply chain and also securing production capabilities so that it has the edge in the market when it ultimately releases its solid-state batteries.
