Stellantis and Samsung green light plans for second EV battery plant in US

Just over a year after announcing a joint venture to establish EV battery manufacturing together in the US, Stellantis and Samsung SDI are doubling down with a second plant with an even higher annual production capacity.

In May of 2022, Stellantis and EV battery manufacturer Samsung SDI announced a joint venture to establish a production facility in Kokomo, Indiana to support the former’s electrification plans in North America.

The new facility called for an investment of over $2.5 billion and could eventually increase to over $3 billion as the JV partners look to open the plant by 2025 and create 1,400 new jobs in the state. When it does open, the Kokomo plant is expected to offer an initial production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh) while Samsung and Stellantis aim to increase that number to 33 GWh over the years that follow.

While we still remain a couple years away from the ribbon cutting ceremony in Indiana, Stellantis and Samsung have decided to implement an additional EV battery manufacturing plant in the US – hardening plans for a much larger lineup of Stellantis EVs eventually sold in the country.

Stellantis shared details of its expanded StarPlus Energy joint venture with Samsung SDI in a press release this morning, explaining that its second planned US battery plant it targeting an annual production capacity of 34 GWh the day it opens… but that will be a while.

As part of Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 electrification strategy, it says it needs roughly 400 GWh of annual battery capacity to achieve its EV sales targets – all while attempting to sell BEVs-only in Europe and a 50% mix in the US by the end of the decade. The automaker’s CEO Carlos Tavares spoke:

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. We are continuing to add more capacity in the United States together with our great partner Samsung SDI and laying the next steps to reaching our carbon neutrality commitment by 2038.

Samsung SDI will be crucial to Stellantis delivering its extended lineup of BEVs to North America but has its hands full with other US battery plants as well. This past April, it announced a $3 billion joint venture with GM to erect a battery manufacturing plant over 30 GWh expected to open in 2026.

If that facility stays on track, it will open a year after Stellantis’ aforementioned Kokomo facility, and a year before the larger facility announced today, scheduled to begin production in 2027. Stellantis has not yet shared where in the US its second battery plant with Samsung may end up – but the automaker has dozens of footprints in North America, many of which in the midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada.