Samsung SDI, Stellantis to invest $2.5 billion to build EV battery plant in Indiana

Industry

Published: 25 May. 2022, 11:18 Updated: 25 May. 2022, 11:21

Samsung SDI, Stellantis to invest $2.5 billion to build EV battery plant in Indiana

Choi Yoon-ho, left, CEO of Samsung SDI, and Mark Stewart, COO at Stellantis North America, shake hands after signing an agreement to invest $2.5 billion to build an EV battery factory in Kokomo, Indiana. [SAMSUNG SDI]

Samsung SDI and Stellantis are jointly investing over $2.5 billion to build an EV battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana, the two companies confirmed Wednesday.

The factory will be the Korean battery maker's first battery facility in the United States. Samsung SDI has a battery pack assembly facility in Detroit.

The two companies signed an agreement Tuesday in Kokomo, Indiana, with Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho and Mark Stewart, COO at Stellantis North America, in attendance.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for the end of the year, with the goal of starting operations in the first quarter of 2025.

The annual capacity will stand at 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), but could be increased to as much as to 33 GWh in the future, according to Samsung.

The amount of investment could also increase to as much as $3.1 billion, the two companies said.

The new factory will create around 1,400 new jobs.

The announcement came seven months after the two signed an agreement to form a joint venture to build a battery factory in North America last year.

“We have secured a solid foothold in the rapidly growing North American EV market through the joint venture with Stellantis," said Samsung SDI CEO Choi. "We will make sincere efforts to bring satisfaction to the market with top-class quality products in the future."

Netherlands-based Stellantis was formed last year in a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group, and has 14 brands, including Chrysler, Jeep, Maserati, Peugeot and Citroen.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]