General Motors finalized the joint venture it formed with Samsung SDI in April 2023 to manufacture electric vehicle batteries – but the two partners have pushed the start of production forward by a year. The $3.5-billion project is being built now in New Carlisle, Ind., and will start manufacturing prismatic battery cells at an annual rate of 27 GWh in 2027, not in 2026 as first announced, and later rising to 30 GWh annually.
According to a GM representative, the capacity could increase to 36 GWh under the terms of the joint venture.
Last year GM entered an agreement with Samsung SDI as a new direction in its EV battery strategy. It has a separate joint venture with LG Energy Solutions – Ultium Cells LLC – producing cell packs based on nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum (NCMA) chemistry. Two Ultium Cells plants are in operation, in Ohio and Tennessee, and another is in development in Michigan.
The new plant will produce “nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells.”
At the time of the announcement last year, General Motors EVP-global product development Doug Parks explained: "The introduction of new cell form factors will allow us to expand into even more segments more quickly and integrate cells directly into battery packs to reduce weight, complexity and costs.”
As for the choice of Samsung over LG for the new venture, Parks stated: “With multiple strong cell partners, we can scale our EV business faster than we could going it alone."
