Samsung SDI said to team up with GM to build second U.S. battery plant

2023.03.06 12:40:02 | 2023.03.06 12:43:51

Samsung SDI logo [Courtesy of Samsung SDI]À̹ÌÁö È®´ë

Samsung SDI logo [Courtesy of Samsung SDI]



South Korea¡¯s Samsung SDI Co. plans to build its second electric vehicle battery plant in the U.S. as it teams up with General Motors Co. in what could be an investment of more than 3 trillion won ($2.31 billion), according to unidentified industry sources.

Samsung SDI will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with GM to build the joint factory Wednesday in the U.S., the sources said Friday. The signing ceremony will be attended by Samsung SDI¡¯s Chief Executive Officer Choi Yoon-ho nd GM CEO Mary Barra, sources said.

The two companies are expected to collaborate to produce more than 30 gigawatt hour of batteries annually, with plans to increase capacity to as much as 50 GWh.

They are currently in the final stages of negotiating production scale and investment methods. The factory is expected to be located in Michigan, where GM is headquartered.

The batteries supplied to GM will potentially include prismatic and cylindrical batteries. Currently, GM EVs use pouch-type batteries from Ultium Cells, a joint venture with Korean EV battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd.

Samsung SDI is building its first EV battery plant in the U.S. under a venture with Stellantis N.V. in Indiana. The two companies are investing more than $2.5 billion in the construction.

By Song Min-geun and Minu Kim

[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]