Samsung SDI and Stellantis to build EV battery plant in Indiana

South Korea-based Samsung SDI and Stellantis N.V. announced this week they would be entering into a joint venture to build a lithium-ion battery production plant in Kokomo, Indiana. The companies are planning on increasing production capacity each year and are hoping to reach at least 33 gigawatt-hours at some point in the near future. 

This week’s announcement said that over $2.5 billion would be invested into the project, with room to expand this to over $3 billion. The facility is expected to employ 1,400 people in the area and produce batteries for Stellantis plants throughout the United States. It will reportedly utilize Samsung SDI’s PRiMX technology to build the EV battery cells.

Stellantis’s Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Tavares, said the announcement “further solidifies [Stellantis’s] global battery production footprint and demonstrates Stellantis’s drive toward a decarbonized future.” 

Yoon-Ho Choi, Samsung SDI’s Chief Executive Officer, thanked the State of Indiana and said his technology firm has “secured a solid foothold in a rapidly growing North America EV market through the joint venture with Stellantis.”

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb added that the new project is “another step toward positioning Indiana as a leader in the future of mobility, battery technology, and clean energy.”

The plan will still need regulatory approvals, but the companies are hoping to start total EV battery production by 2025. The facility is just one part of Stellantis’s so-called “Dare Forward 2030” plan, which aims for 50% of its vehicles sold in the U.S. to be battery-electric by the end of the decade. 

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