SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) –Samsung SDI Co., South Korea’s second-biggest car battery maker, said Wednesday it will build its second U.S. battery plant in Indiana jointly with Stellantis N.V. near the first plant under construction.
Samsung SDI set up a 51:49 joint company named StarPlus Energy with Stellantis in May last year to build the two plants in the U.S. for the supply of battery packs for Stellantis vehicles manufactured in the world’s most important automobile market.
The company plans to begin operations of the first 33 GWh plant in the first quarter of 2025 and of the second 34 GWh plant in early 2027.
On top of the two factories to be built in Kokomo, Indiana, Samsung SDI is also building a 30 GWh plant in New Carlisle, Indiana, under a joint venture with General Motors Co. with an aim to start production in 2026.
Stellantis is a 50:50 joint venture set up through the merger of U.S. carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and French automaker PSA Groupe.
Samsung SDI plans to invest US$2.5 billion in the No. 1 Kokomo plant, $3.9 billion in the No. 2 Kokomo plant, and more than $3 billion in the New Carlisle plant.
Separately from the JV plants in the U.S., the company operates two domestic battery-cell plants as well as four overseas battery cell plants in China, Hungary, and Malaysia.
(Yonhap)
