GM and Samsung SDI to invest $3 billion in U.S. battery plant

GM said last year it expects to build 400,000 EVs in North America from 2022 through mid-2024 and increase capacity to 1 million units annually in North America in 2025.

Sources say GM is considering if it will eventually need at least two additional EV plants to meet future EV demand.

A person at Samsung SDI said the South Korean company “would likely have more than one battery JV plant with GM in North America,” without giving details.

GM already has a joint venture in the U.S. with LG Energy Solution, and has been investing to ramp up cell production with the South Korean battery maker to take advantage of subsidies under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that aims to boost domestic manufacturing.

The U.S. Energy Department finalized a $2.5 billion loan to the GM-LG Energy JV late last year.

The companies are building a $2.6 billion plant in Michigan, set to open in 2024, one of three JV Ultium Cells LLC plants. They dropped plans for a fourth plant in New Carlisle, Indiana but GM could still pick the site for a battery plant with another partner, Reuters reported in January.

Hyundai Motor and SK On, a battery unit of SK Innovation, plan to set up a battery JV in Georgia, in an investment worth a combined about $5 billion, the two companies said on Tuesday.