SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) — Samsung SDI Co. announced Wednesday that it will invest US$1.97 billion in a second manufacturing facility for batteries in the United States. This joint venture with Stellantis N.V. is called StarPlus Energy.
This follows the previous announcement two months ago that a second battery plant would be built in Indiana. The amount being invested corresponds to the South Korean battery maker’s 51 percent stake in the project, and it will take place from April 2024 to November 2027, as indicated in the filing.
The second battery plant is expected to begin operations in 2027 with an initial production capacity of 34 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year. The exact location of the new plant has not yet been decided.
The two companies established their battery venture in October 2021, and in May 2022 they revealed plans for the first battery manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana. The first factory is scheduled to have an annual production of 33 GWh, higher than the initial target of 23 GWh, with operations set to start in the first quarter of 2025.