Stellantis and Samsung SDI released a quick update related to their battery joint venture in Kokomo, Indiana, where the two partners are building a new lithium-ion cell factory.
The first milestone of the project is the raising of the first piece of steel that will form the structure of the new gigafactory. The beam was signed by the joint venture management team and the Kokomo mayor.
If everything progresses as planned, the new plant - announced in May 2022 - will start producing EV batteries as soon as in the first quarter of 2025.
The initial annual production capacity is 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), although there is a plan to increase it in the next few years (so before 2030) to 33 GWh.
That might be enough to power more than 300,000 Stellantis all-electric vehicles (assuming 100 kilowatt-hours per battery pack).
The plant itself is a significant project, which requires a $2.5 billion investment (with a potential of a gradual increase up to $3.1 billion), but not as big as some of the other battery plants (often $4-5 billion per site).
At this point, it's not clear what models (produced locally in North America) will be powered by Samsung SDI's battery cells.
It's worth noting that Stellantis is also working with LG Energy Solution on an even bigger project - a 45 GWh battery factory in Canada, which will be launched one year earlier than the factory in Indiana - in Q1 2024 vs. Q1 2025.
Meanwhile, Stellantis continue to rely on external battery supplier and prepares several battery factories (joint ventures) in Europe.
Gallery: Stellantis and Samsung SDI's Kokomo Gigafactory Marks Construction Milestone
Stellantis and Samsung SDI's JV in brief:
- joint venture
- location: Kokomo, Indiana
- investment: $2.5 billion (€2.3 billion) initially
could gradually increase up to $3.1 billion (€2.9 billion) - construction start: late 2022
- production start: H1 2025
- output: initially 23 GWh of lithium-ion battery cells and modules annually with an aim to increase up to 33 GWh/year in the following years (potentially more, depending on demand)
