South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. is poised to ramp up cylindrical lithium capacity to broaden its footprint in EV market after it clinched an order to power the world’s first all-electric pickup truck of up-and-coming U.S. electric vehicle startup Rivian.

Rivian dubbed as the next Tesla is rolling out the world’s first electric pickup truck ‘R1T’ and electric SUV ‘R1S’ around June and confirmed the vehicles would run on Samsung SDI battery cells, according to the Michigan-based carmaker Tuesday (local time).

Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe touted the performance and reliability of Samsung SDI battery cells combined with its energy-dense module and pack design on the same day.

Financial terms have not disclosed.

Industry experts expect the battery maker could take home at least 200 billion won ($178.1 million) from the supply deal, considering the exceptional response to its pre-orders late last year that were booked entirely during the first week of opening.

Amazon partnered with Rivian and agreed to buy 100,000 electric vehicles by 2030.

Rivian, founded by a young graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009, kicked off mass production at its Illinois factory late last year for delivery from June, beating Tesla and GM in putting electric pickup trucks on the roads.

Samsung SDI has been aggressive in battery production this year. The Korean maker is studying to ramp up capacity at its plant in Tianjin, China, within the year to meet growing demand for cylindrical lithium cells, the most widely used secondary battery amid its wider employment.

It is planning to invest 900 billion won on Hungary plant to expand the output for the European market.

Samsung SDI does not disclose its production capacity for unified prismatic battery cells. Industry experts estimate its capacity at 30 GWh which would increase to 50 GWh by 2022 and 70 GWh by 2023, enough to power 1 million units of EVs.

At home, Samsung SDI has partnered with Hyundai Motor Co. to jointly develop cylindrical battery cells.

Samsung SDI shares gained 1.01 percent to finish at 697,000 won in Seoul trading on Wednesday.

By Won Ho-sup and Lee Ha-yeon

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