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Samsung SDI secures $1b ESS battery supply deal in US
Samsung SDI, a South Korean battery maker, said it agreed to supply prismatic batteries for energy storage systems to a US-based energy company for 1.5 trillion won (US$1.0 billion), with deliveries starting this year through 2029.
Samsung SDI said it will initially supply nickel-cobalt-aluminum batteries and later lithium iron phosphate cells produced by StarPlus Energy, the joint venture between Samsung SDI and Stellantis, at an Indiana plant.
The firm said it is boosting its US presence amid rising ESS demand and is in talks with multiple global customers.
Samsung SDI claimed as the only non-Chinese supplier of prismatic ESS batteries in North America.
🔗 Source: Yonhap
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
This deal leans on a big shift from EVs to energy storage
- Samsung SDI will make the batteries at its U.S. plants, including an Indiana site run through StarPlus Energy, its joint venture with Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler vehicles. The project drew more than $5.7 billion in investment and a $7.54 billion federal loan for EV battery production 1, 2.
- The company is converting some EV battery lines to build energy storage systems (ESS) as demand changes 3.
- The Inflation Reduction Act is pushing that move with tax credits for U.S. battery output, including $35 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for cells and $10 per kWh for modules 4.
- Planned US battery capacity has climbed by about two thirds since the law passed, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (a commodities and supply-chain research firm focused on batteries and critical minerals) 5.
US policy is nudging a homegrown battery supply chain
- The Inflation Reduction Act uses tax credits as a “carrot,” while tariffs on Chinese imports add the “stick” that steers supply chains away from China 4.
- Samsung SDI and other South Korean firms are adding U.S. production capacity and pitching themselves as options to Chinese battery suppliers 6.
- Suppliers are following. Hanjung America is building an Indiana plant to make cooling and fire-suppression systems for the Stellantis and Samsung SDI StarPlus Energy EV battery facility in Kokomo, Indiana 6.
- More domestic output also ties to power reliability as ESS demand rises with renewables plus the growth of the AI industry 3.
