Stellantis, Samsung SDI plan second US gigafactory

Dive Brief:

• Stellantis and battery maker Samsung SDI on Monday announced plans to build a second joint venture gigafactory in the U.S.
• The EV battery plant, which is slated to open in 2027 with an initial production capacity of 34 gigawatt hours per year, will be the automaker’s sixth supporting its planned increase in EV manufacturing. 
• “This new facility will contribute to reaching our aggressive target to offer at least 25 new battery electric vehicles for the North American market by the end of the decade,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

Stellantis is developing a series of gigafactories across North America and Europe to secure an estimated 400 gigawatts of battery capacity needed to meet EV production targets, outlined in its “Dare Forward 2030” strategy last year. The strategy includes electrifying half of the automaker’s U.S. offerings and all of its European products by the end of the decade. 

The automaker and South Korea-based Samsung SDI are currently building a $2.5 billion EV battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana, which will neighbor three Stellantis facilities. Once completed, the gigafactory is expected to have a production capacity of 33 gigawatts. 

The companies signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the second gigafactory under their existing StarPlus Energy joint venture, according to a news release. The new location is currently under review.

Samsung SDI, which currently has one production site in the U.S., seeks to grow its manufacturing footprint in North America through the partnership. 

“By establishing the joint venture with Stellantis last year, we laid a solid groundwork for marking our presence in North America,” the battery maker’s President and CEO Yoon-ho Choi said in a statement. “The second plant will accelerate our market penetration into the U.S. and help Stellantis push forward the U.S. transition to an era of electric vehicles.”